Romania Finds Drone Fragments Near Border As Russia Targets Ukraine’s Energy Sector

Russia missiles and drones hit three thermal power plants of Ukraine’s largest private power firm DTEK on March 29, damaging facilities, the company said, as Moscow’s forces launched fresh attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector.

“The equipment was severely damaged. After the attack ended, the power engineers promptly started to repair the damage,” DTEK said on the Telegram messaging app.

Earlier on March 29, Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenerho reported that Russian forces “struck again at energy facilities in a massive and combined attack” overnight, damaging “thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the central and western regions.”

Ukrenerho added that emergency shutdowns were applied in the country’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk Province, while power facilities were also hit in Poltava and Cherkasy regions.

Meanwhile, NATO member Romania said it had found fragments of what appeared to be a drone on a farm near the river Danube and the border with Ukraine late on March 28.

Russia has been striking targets in western and central Ukraine with missile and drone attacks conducted at night.

“In the evening of March 28, 2024, fragments that seem to come from an aerial device (drone) were identified on an agricultural land in Insula Mare a Brailei,” Romania’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

The sweeping missile and drone strikes — the biggest of which came on March 22 — have already caused major damage to Ukraine’s energy sector, forcing Kyiv to halt power exports and rely on imports. DTEK lost about 50 percent of its capacity after being hit by Russian attacks, Ukrainian power distributor Yasno said this week.

In the morning on March 29, Ukrainian television reported that explosions were heard in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi regions and the city of Dnipro as Russian cruise missiles were spotted in Ukrainian air space.

At least five people, including a 5-year-old, were wounded in Russian strikes on the Kamianske district near Dnipro that targeted both infrastructure and private homes, regional officials said.

Two of the wounded — one in serious condition — were hospitalized, while three others including the child were receiving outpatient treatment, said Serhiy Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. Three summer houses were destroyed, and four houses were partially damaged in the attack, Lysak added.

The Ukrainian military said its air-defense forces had destroyed 58 drones from a total of 60 launched by Russia overnight, along with 26 of 39 missiles.

In neighboring Poland, Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on March 29 after Russia launched missile strikes on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the country’s armed forces said.

“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in Polish airspace, which may result in increased noise levels, especially in the southeastern part of the country,” the Command said on the social media platform X. The southeastern part of Poland borders Ukraine.

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