Putin launches crippling hypersonic missile blitz on Ukraine as Europe’s biggest nuclear plant narrowly avoids meltdown

EUROPE’S biggest nuclear plant in Ukraine narrowly avoided a catastrophic meltdown after Putin launched a devastating hypersonic missile blitz on the nation. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has now been reconnected to the grid after it lost all external power supply and was relying on diesel generators to stave off disaster. ReutersThe Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost all its external power supply and was using back-up generators to prevent a meltdown (library photo)[/caption] Three Russian rockets being fired. A total of 81 missiles and eight drones struck cities across Ukraine early Thursday morning, Ukraine saidAP:Associated Press ReutersRussia unleashed a barrage of missiles targeting cities including Kyiv, pictured[/caption] ReutersThe attacks also hit residential buildings[/caption] ReutersRussian strikes hit multiple regions across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, pictured[/caption] A barrage of Russian missiles – including six lethal Kinzhal hypersonic ballistics – were fired at various regions in Ukraine. The Russian defence ministry confirmed that the “massive retaliatory strike” involved Kinzhal’s, which can be loaded up with up to 1,000 pounds of explosives or even a nuclear warhead. The Ukrainian military said a total of 81 missiles and eight drones were fired during the early morning strikes – the biggest attack in weeks. People were woke by the terrifying sound of an air-raid warning as explosives rained down on the streets. The blitz paralysed the country’s power supply, with the UN atomic watchdog warning overheating reactor fuel could trigger chaos. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the generators only had enough fuel to last for 15 days. But Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo announced on Thursday afternoon that the disaster had been averted. The damage was caused after a series of missile strikes in multiple regions in Ukraine. Some of the missiles appeared to have been fired from the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea and over Moldovan airspace. Ukraine’s commander in chief Valery Zaluzhnysaid said the air defence shot down nearly 34 Russian cruise missiles from different bases. Spokesperson Colonel Yuri Ihnat said Russia used various types of aircraft and vessels to hurl “a wide spectrum of weapons” at the war-torn country. He added: “I cannot remember that many Kinzhal missiles being launched at once during this war. “The enemy does not have a lot of these missiles, we are talking about dozens. The enemy has also launched six Kh-22s, missiles of the most devastating capacity.” Officials said residential buildings were hit in the horror blasts leaving at least five people dead. Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator said the strikes had cut off the electricity supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It is the sixth time the plant was offline since it was taken over by Russia last year, forcing it to rely on 18 diesel generators that can run the station for 10 days, Energoatom said. The energy operator warned: “The countdown has begun. “If it is impossible to renew the external power supply of the station during this time, an accident with radiation consequences for the whole world may occur.” There were also strikes reported on energy plants in other parts of Ukraine, including Kharkiv in the northeast and the region of Odesa in the southwest. Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday the strike on Ukrainian infrastructure was in retaliation for their pumped-up “terror attack” near the border last week. Last Thursday Moscow bizarrely claimed Ukrainian saboteurs had stormed over the border and taken hostages in the Bryansk region. Ukrainian President Zelensky slammed the new wave of missile strikes and said critical infrastructure and residential buildings in ten regions were hit, before adding that Moscow “won’t avoid responsibility”. Maksym Kozytskyi governor of Lviv, said four people were killed in the region after a missile struck a residential area. Three buildings were destroyed by fire after the strike and rescue workers were combing through rubble looking for more possible victims, he said. Governor Serhii Lysak said another person was killed and two were injured following multiple strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The attack sent air raid sirens blaring throughout cities, including the capital Kyiv. Air defense systems were activated in multiple areas of the country. Officials said Kyiv was attacked with both missiles and exploding drones and that many were intercepted but that its energy infrastructure was hit. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were reported in the Holosiivskyi district of the city, and two people were wounded in the Sviatoshynskyi district. Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, reported more than 15 strikes in Ukraine‘s second-largest city. “Objects of critical infrastructure is again in the crosshairs of the occupants,” he said in a social media post. Maksym Marchenko, governor of the southern Odesa region, reported that energy facilities and residential buildings were hit in the area. “The second wave is expected right now, so I ask the residents of the region to stay in shelters!” Marchenko wrote, saying the area was hit with a “massive missile attack.” Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko slammed the missile strikes as “another barbaric massive attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine” and said in a Facebook post that facilities in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions had been targeted. Preventive emergency power cuts were applied in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Odesa regions, supplier DTEK said. More explosions were reported in the northern city of Chernihiv and the cities of Dnipro, Lutsk and Rivne. Ukrainian media also reported explosions in the western regions of Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil. These missile attacks have come from Russia since last October, initially targeting the country’s energy infrastructure on a weekly basis. This brought entire cities into the dark, however, the strikes became more spread out over time with speculation that Moscow might be saving up on ammunition. The last major barrage took place on February 16. BATTLE HELL Russian President, Vladimir Putin has claimed control over the eastern part of Bakhmut this week, according to the leader of the Wagner mercenary group. The Ukrainian military is now hanging on to positions and inflicting as many casualties as possible on enemy forces in a desperate attempt to grind down their fighting capability. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said: “The enemy, despite significant losses, continues to storm the town of Bakhmut.” Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as Putin’s Chef and the head of Wagner, claimed his mercenaries had captured the city’s east. He said via Telegram: “Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under the control of Wagner.” If the warlord’s claims are true, Russian forces would now control nearly half of Bakhmut. The chilling update comes as NATO’s leader predicted the rest of the city could fall to the invading army in the next few days. Speaking before a European Union defense ministers conference, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia was throwing more troops into the battle. He said: “They have suffered big losses but at the same time we cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days. “This would not necessarily be a turning point in the war, he added, but it showed ‘we should not underestimate Russia’.” On Tuesday, the Ukrainian National Guard’s chief medic told Reuters that all roads in the area were under heavy shelling. He said: “Ambulances and other vehicles come under shelling and for that reason, it is very difficult to evacuate people. “There are high losses, and among medics in particular.” APA Ukrainian tank fires toward Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine[/caption] APA rescue worker puts out the fire of a house that was destroyed by Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka[/caption]