Panic for Putin as Ukraine ‘annihilates’ Moscow power plant | World | News
Ukrainian strikes have “annihilated” a major power plant in Russia with video footage showing a huge fireball lighting up the night sky. Videos online appear to show a massive explosion and fire after a strike. Russian Telegram channels said the overnight attack was on the Shatura Thermal Power Plant in Russia‘s Moscow region.
It has not been possible to independently verify the purported attack. At the time of writing Ukraine‘s military had not confirmed the reported attack on the plant, which is about 70 miles east of the Russian capital. Igor Sushko, who regularly tweets about the Russia-Ukraine war, claimed on X: “Ukrainian strikes annihilated a major combined heat & power plant in Shatura, Moscow region.
“One of the oldest plants in the country with a capacity of 1,500MW. At least 820 MW taken offline – equivalent to electricity usage of 1.5 million Muscovites.”
Wojciech Jakobik, an energy analyst, wrote on X: “Ukraine attacked the Shatura Combined Heat and Power Plant in Russia near Moscow. This could be retaliation for numerous attacks on civilian targets. In one of them, a seven-year-old girl from Poland was recently killed.”
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks in a bid to hit the country’s economy. Russia has also been targeting energy facilities in Ukraine as winter approaches.
Reports of the attack on the Russian power plant come as Ukraine’s allies push to revise a peace plan struck between the US and Russia, which is seen as favouring Moscow.
A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives from the UK, France and Germany, has been preparing for direct talks with the US in Switzerland today (November 23).
The 28-point plan drawn up by the US behind closed doors to end the nearly four-year war sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and keeping the US support it needs.
US President Donald Trump said Washington’s proposal was not his “final offer” as he spoke to reporters outside the White House on Saturday.
He said: “I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened. One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”
The US plan includes Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out. It also includes Ukraine reducing the size of its army and blocking its path to NATO membership.
It contains many of Moscow’s long-standing demands, while offering limited security guarantees to Kyiv.
Leaders of the European Union, Canada and Japan issued a joint statement on Saturday welcoming US peace efforts, but pushed back against key tenets of the plan.
The statement said: “We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s key allies in Europe reiterated their reservations about the Kremlin’s readiness to end the war.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told reporters ahead of the G20 summit: “Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but their actions never live up to their words.”
European leaders have long accused Russia of stalling diplomatic efforts in the hope of overwhelming Ukraine’s much smaller forces on the battlefield.
Kyiv has repeatedly accepted US ceasefire proposals this year, while Moscow has held out for more favourable terms.
