German Foreign Minister visits Ukrainian thermal power plant destroyed by Russians

On 21 May, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock examined of Ukraine's largest thermal power plants that had been destroyed by a Russian missile strike.

As reported by DW, Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko says the Russian Federation attacked the plant while Ukraine lacked air defence weapons, resulting in only six of the eleven targets being shot down.

"We lost about 8 gigawatts from the system... We have restrictions on peak consumption times during business days. We can balance the system, but it's quite difficult. We plan to prepare for the next winter," Halushchenko told reporters.

Baerbock noted that "Russian terror is deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure."

"We see that even on warm spring days, electricity consumption has to be reduced, because all thermal power plants have been damaged by targeted attacks in recent months," she said.

Baerbock recalled how during a visit to Kharkiv in a 15-degree cold, she observed that "people froze to death as the heat supply was turned off." "One can only imagine what will happen if it is not possible to launch these thermal power plants by winter, what this will mean for electricity and heat consumers," Baerbock stated.

On Tuesday 21 May, Baerbock visited Ukraine for the seventh time since Russia's full-scale war began. During the visit, the German Foreign Minister urged more international support for Ukraine's air defence.

She also stressed that Germany has no concerns over the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even though Ukraine cannot hold presidential elections under martial law.