Ukraine Ran Out of Missiles’ Defending Power Station

(ConservativeSense.com) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s lack of air defense missiles meant it could not defend one of its largest power plants against Russian attack. Trypilia, based near the capital Kyiv, came under attack from Russian forces in March, and Zelenskyy said his soldiers were able to thwart seven missiles but could not continue because they had depleted their own supply.

Svitlana Grynchuk, Ukraine’s deputy energy minister, said Russia had increased its assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and improved its targeting. She described how, in the first two years of the conflict, Russian missiles were scattered but have lately become more precise, with dozens of missiles hitting a single, specific target.

Oleksandr Kharchenko of the Kyiv-based Energy Industry Research Center (EIRC) agreed and said energy infrastructure attacks intensified in March, with one incident leaving a million Ukrainians without power.

The CEO of DTEK, the company that operates Trypilia in Kyiv, said the evolution of Russian strategy has resulted in a “huge increase in its destructive effectiveness” in the early months of 2024.

Mr. Zelenskyy simultaneously extended his criticism of allies and asked why support for Israel is forthcoming while his country depletes its stocks. Following a deadly attack on April 17 that left 13 people dead, Ukraine’s leader took to Twitter to complain that Western commitment to countering Russian “terror” is insufficient.

Mykhailo Podolyak, Mr. Zelenskyy’s adviser, asked reporters why Israeli civilian lives appear to be more important to Western leaders than Ukraine’s. “Russia and Iran use the same attack strategy and the same tools,” he said.

Experts suggest, however, that the West is reluctant to engage in battle with Russia and is, therefore, more careful about approaching the Eastern European conflict. Frank Ledwidge, a former British military intelligence officer, said Western leaders are unwilling to risk a global confrontation between Russia and NATO.

British Foreign Minister David Cameron confirmed Ledwidge’s view and warned against “dangerous escalation” and the risk of sparking conflict across the continent.