the largest attack on ukraine's energy sector since the beginning of the war. russia fired at generation facilities throughout the country. why now and will the ukrainian energy system succeed? speaking on today's edition of the bbc, i'm olga palomaryuk. but before we get to today's topic, we have hot news. princess of wales kate was diagnosed with cancer. in a video statement, the princess said that she is currently receiving treatment and it was a big shock to learn about the illness after an incredibly difficult few months. the princess said she was feeling well and getting stronger every day. details diseases at present. not disclosed. well, to

the topic of the broadcast: not just to damage, to cause a large-scale failure in the operation of the entire energy system. this is how the minister of energy of ukraine herman galushchenko wrote about the purpose of today's attack by the russians. in the morning, the russians shelled more than 10 regions of ukraine. dniprogest was hit. this is the largest hydroelectric power plant of ukraine, located in the zaporizhzhia region. the prosecutor's office was told that eight people were hit there. there are civilian casualties. a critical situation has developed in kharkiv. after a series of explosions, the light went out there. generally affected about 20 substations, announced prime minister denys shmyhal. in advance, he says, it will take a day to restore the electricity supply. well , in general, today's strike was the most massive in recent times. according to volodymyr zelenskyi, russia used 151 means of attack, including more than 60 drones. shahed and

almost 90 missiles of various types. the ukrainian military destroyed most of the shaheds, but all the launched iskander s-300 daggers did not shoot down the ballistic missiles. so, how did ukraine survive today's night and morning and what is the current situation? we are talking with my colleague zhanna bespiachuk is in touch with us. my friend, i congratulate you, tell me more about what is known about the consequences of this attack on the ukrainian energy industry? so congratulations, the first thing worth noting is that the ukrainian government has confirmed that this is the most massive attack on the energy infrastructure during this winter-spring period and definitely one of the largest since the beginning of the war, if not the largest. this time , ukraine's hydroelectric power generation, the largest in ukraine, the dniprovska hpp, was under the crosshairs. eight rockets were fired at the power plant, two. direct

hitting it was directly recorded, of course, for ukraine immediately, the first question that arose after that, what about the dam, after what they experienced, after the explosion of the kakhovskaya dam, this was the most important question, and as confirmed by ukrhydroenergo, the dam whole, so now the question is when they will be able to resume electricity generation, precisely from the dniprovska hpp. which is important for providing electricity to the ukrainian industry in the south-east of ukraine and, accordingly, the industry also concerns the defense sector of ukraine, and this is actually where the likely answer to the question of why they struck just now may lie, because such a strike affects the situation on the work of the ukrainian defense sector industry, and this is the first question, the second question, of course... that we could make sure

once again how much kharkiv is vulnerable today, due to its proximity to the border, and as a result, the city was in a complete blackout, but as the residents of kharkiv say, we found this out before the broadcast, basically everything is working in the city, the main thing is that the hospitals are working , the main thing is that they work flint houses that sell foodstuffs, food, for two years of war. kharkiv residents have learned to live and work in conditions of blackouts, and accordingly, thanks to the generator , the city's infrastructure generally works except for electric transport, which was forced to stop for a certain time. in general, infrastructure was also attacked in the central regions of ukraine and in the west of ukraine, at least seven regions were forced to turn off the emergency power supply. and then the government explained. that the priority will be

to restore the supply of electricity for first of all, hospitals and other critical infrastructure, then it is the household, that is, the population, and in third place will be pro... verbosity. olya yes yes. indeed, there was information that more than 10 regions were affected. and, colleague, you touched on this partial topic of strikes on the energy infrastructure not long ago, they were expected in the winter, but we see a different tactic of the russians and we see that the damage is significant. so, why was this possible? earlier, we know, it was said that anti-aircraft defense should have been strengthened near such objects. that's right, in general, ideally near everyone the infrastructure object must be placed in several echelons of a powerful air defense system in order to protect it under any circumstances, this time, what could be observed, as explained

by the ukrainian authorities, the military, what can be said now is that most of all the power plant, they found themselves literally under targeted missile fire. that is, when a large number of missiles are launched at an energy facility at short intervals or at the same time , it is simply impossible to shoot down eight missiles at the same time and at once, even if a proper echelon system is in place air defense, this is the first point, and the second point is that some of the missiles were ballistic, these are missiles that fly along a complex trajectory, and they are not shot down by all air defense systems, even of western models, not even more modern ones. ukraine has patriots, males, who today protect the capital of the country, but in order to protect other cities, respectively, other large infrastructure objects, ukraine does not have such a number of these systems, moreover, even if it were possible to place them next to

the infrastructure objects, for example, kharkiv, then they were such an easy target for, well, an available target, a potential target for... russian missiles, cheap, relatively guided, anti-aircraft, other types of missiles that it launches across the border, and accordingly, this is also a problem, so as a result, the ukrainian energy infrastructure suffers from these shelling, it suffers so much, thank you, bbc correspondent zhanna bespiachuk was in touch with us, needless to say, the russian ministry of defense reported on the strikes on the energy system of ukraine, it was an act of revenge, allegedly, in response to quote: shelling of russian territory, breakthrough attempts and capture of russian settlements. end of quote. well, according to experts, the russians had two goals: to hit the economy, and also to increase the moral and psychological pressure on ukraitik, who became the object of the russian attack.

we talk about it with the president of the strategy 21 center for global studies mykhailo gonchar joins the broadcast. i congratulate you. mr. mykhailo, how do you think? the purpose of these attacks? the goal of these shellings remains unchanged, as it was in 22, 23, to achieve a blackout of the unified energy system of ukraine. and as we can see, this goal has not been achieved, despite the efforts made damage, the power system did not blackout . however, serious additional damage was indeed caused to critical infrastructure facilities. and it is obvious that this was the second goal, which was aimed at affecting the energy supply of the central dnipro industrial region, where many enterprises of the defense-industrial complex are located. well, what

has a serious resonance is the damage to a large hydropower facility, dniproges, and in order to cause, so to speak, such... additional panicky moods when analogies with the fact that the scenario of the skahovska hes is likely to repeat itself, when the dam of the kokhovska hes was destroyed and the reservoir was flooded with serious damage to the surrounding area. here it is worth saying that a powerful information campaign is currently being conducted, aimed precisely at sowing such panicky moods. one important thing should be noted here: ah, any warhead, no matter how powerful it is, of any of the missiles, ballistic or cruise, it is not capable of causing fatal damage, a dam, which consists of concrete and reinforcement, several

million tons, and is designed to withstand powerful earthquakes , but the engine room itself was damaged, and of course the hydroelectric power plant cannot function, but... the detonation of the zhekakhov hydropower plant and the dam took place due to the seizure of the hydroelectric power plant itself and the placement there of... powerful explosives, i.e. in order to destroy a dam similar to the dniproges dam, tens, if not hundreds, of tons of explosives must be brought there. well , actually, the precedents were historical, in 1941, when the soviet army was retreating, zaporozhye, there was an explosion of the dniproges dam in 1943, when the german army was retreating, they did the same. so, if, here's an attempt to sow those panicky moods, i think. it has no basis in fact, and as

for the problems with energy supply in a whole number of regions, not only in the area near dniproges, but also in the east, starting from kharkiv and ending in the west of frankiv region, lviv region, as well as in the center of vinnytsia and khmelnytskyi, then this is exactly was done comprehensively from the point of view of achieving a power system blackout. as we can see, it didn't work out, the ukrenergo operator acts quickly enough, the relevant experience was gained during these two years, ah, it is used all the time, well, the most important thing, in this context, is that, although the winter period was not marked by any major impacts on the energy infrastructure there, but ah,... it was perfectly understood that these the targets that were attacked , they were actually in the program

of striking the ukrainian infrastructure, and it was only a matter of time when it would be actualized, this happened precisely in conjunction with the strikes on the defense-industrial infrastructure. thank you for the clarification, mr. mykhailo, stay in touch and i would like to hear your opinion, about which reason the financial times writes that during his visit. to kyiv this week , us national security adviser jake sullivan allegedly asked the heads of ukrainian law enforcement agencies not to attack russian oil refining facilities. the publication also provides an illustration of russian refineries, on a map where the range of ukrainian drones is marked in red. well, from the beginning, president zelenskyi's entourage denied the pressure from the american side on this issue, already today at the request journalists to comment on it, deputy prime minister of the ukrainian government olha stefanishyna said. but the following: the ukrainian side responded , i think, precisely with the achievement of its goals and very

successful operations carried out on the territory of the russian federation, there are also statements by other officials, which are that these are absolutely legitimate goals from a military point of view, and this first, second, we understand the appeals of our american partners, at the same time we are fighting with those capabilities, those resources and those practices that... we have today, yes, we're back to the conversation, mr. mikhail, do you think attacks on russian refineries can really affect global oil prices? no, this is manipulation, absolutely, since ukrainian drones did not strike oil production enterprises in western siberia or the urals, but the fact that there is some increase in the price of... oil, by the way, today the trend was completely different, a decrease, however what happened is a consequence of the inability of the western

coalition, and above all the united states, to curb the houthis. it is the activity of the hussites in zone of mabelmandebu, the red sea, ah, just led to the fact that oil traffic took a longer and more expensive route to bypass africa, and this, accordingly, affects... the price of oil, well, plus in the united states itself, well, a fraction there was definitely some growth, but it was caused by the fact that the american oil refineries are actually being closed for repairs, and therefore it is necessary to look for a reason here, and not to invent and under a far-fetched pretext, so to speak, to recommend to the ukrainian side not to strike, thank you, thank you by clarification, mykhailo. gonchar, president of the strategy 21 global studies center, was in touch with us. well, that's all we have time

to talk about today, more news on monday at 9 p.m. all the best and take care. greetings, friends, the second part of the verdict program is on the air of the espresso tv channel, my name is serhiy rudenko, literally... the story is unfolding before our eyes in krasnohirsk near moscow, in the kroku city hall concert hall there was a shooting this evening before the start of the performance of the picnic band. it is currently known that 18 people died, however, there are different statistics regarding 40 people and more than 50

wounded. let's see what happened this evening in the moscow region. in the krokus shopping center, they are full of people , they are shooting from a machine gun, they are shooting at the crowd, some people are shooting.

intelligence of the ministry of defense of ukraine has already reacted to this so-called terrorist attack and shooting in the suburbs of moscow, they in the department , meaning budanov, say that this is a deliberate provocation of the putin regime, which the international community warned about, we will talk about this today during our of the second part of the verdict program, but let me remind you that during this program we are conducting a survey, we are asking you about this, should... ukraine strike at the critical infrastructure of russia? yes no. everything is quite simple on youtube. if you have your opinion, please write it in the comments. if you're watching us on tv, pick up your smartphones and vote. if you believe that ukraine should strike russia's critical infrastructure in response to strikes on ukraine's critical infrastructure. 0800 211 381 no 0 800

211 382. vote, all calls are free at the end. program, we will sum up the results of this vote, today we have a journalistic studio, my colleagues are journalist olha len, a political viewer, the host of the espresso tv channel. olya, good evening. good evening. olga musafirova, correspondent of the new newspaper europe in ukraine. ulyu, good evening. thank you for joining our broadcast. well, here, here, actually, i will no longer ask you what you think, or whether it should cause. ukraine struck russia's critical infrastructure in response, because, well, that's it seems like a rhetorical question, but since there is a lot of talk about the fact that in the international press, in particular, in the british financial times, there was a publication that ukrainians should not hit oil refineries, it seems to me that at least

dvioli is right, i think that support, here they say that these blows have. although let's exchange opinions in the format of a poll blitz, olya. well, yes, i think that it is necessary, because this is what supplies the russian army itself, the oil refinery, what is it, it is not crude oil oil, it's gasoline, it's aviation fuel for those planes that fly, after all, it's fuel for their crops, they're there so that they don't think that it's all very nice, well, nothing, they'll buy it, let them spend the money, which they should... spend on weapons there, they will spend on the purchase of recycled fuel in the world, isn't that bad, i think it's good, thank you, ulga musafirova, of course, the question is rhetorical, that's how it should be done, i hope that these strikes, they will continue because they are legitimate targets, not even here

it's about revenge, you know, you violated energy facilities for us, and we will violate you for that, this is a kindergarten, we have a war for survival in ukraine, and here, you know, either we or us, i would would have preferred that we, and if we , everything that causes great harm to russia is positive for ukraine, beyond any doubt, colleagues, when we were preparing to... on the air, we wanted to talk about the results of putin's so-called elections, but literally before our eyes , the so-called terrorist attack or terrorist attack is unfolding , the russians do not know for sure. mass media it is impossible to trust the information about what is really happening there, but in krasnohirsk near moscow, just an hour ago

, a shooting occurred in the kroku city hall concert hall before the performance of the band picnic, and at the moment we know about 18 people who died and those who were injured, there are more than 50. our voice says , that this is a deliberate provocation of putin's regime, and it must be said that... at one time , western special services warned that there would be a mass terrorist attack in moscow, and we know that the destruction of one's own civilians is putin's favorite political technology, he himself coming to big politics was engaged in this, we remember the terrorist attacks that took place in the late 90s in russian cities, we see what happened in nordosta, this story, when it was not clear who was being smoked. those who came to a concert or a performance were poisoned with this gas, poisonous gas, and it is clear that both fear and

terror are what vladimir putin usually uses in his arsenal. of course, there is still very little information about this, but john kirby, on behalf of the white house, has already said that before this terrorist attack, exactly... uninvolved ukrainians and ukraine, warning the fsb that they can twist or speculate on this. olga, i am turning to olga musafirova, how do you assess what is happening there in this situation, it was predicted, putin continues his terrorist activities and he needs it for something now, after already, it would seem, such... percentages, which he drew 87, what, what is happening, how is it to perceive what is happening in the moscow region? well, first of all, i will say that putin is terribly unoriginal, he

came to power with a terrorist attack, if you remember, there was a terrorist attack in dubrovka in 2002, and the current coming to power is also marked by a terrorist attack, which seems strange to me. with this, he not without reason wants to consolidate russian society, that is, fear is one of the best consolidators for russians, and in order to mobilize 300-400 million, it does not matter how many soldiers, soldiers. for the war in ukraine, this is a great opportunity, russia is surrounded by terrorists, that is, nonsense, well, fantastic,

the terrorist country is shouting, keep the terrorists, those who did what happened in crocus, i'm more than sure there's no one alive, i mean, you who shot them, they won't be found, they'll be found... some charred bodies that you can come up with in hindsight , any biography, and that will be just the push, which the kremlin always uses, if we do not destroy them, and to them this means global enemies, because they say that it is not just ukraine that is already fighting against russia, but, as pishkom says, a gang. this measure, which is a collective measure that helps ukraine, although we know very well how they help us, that is, it is purely a solution

own militaristic problems in this term of the presidential election. thank you ulya, ulya, here i am turning to olga, today there are two olgas again, and what is pleasant for me, and olya, here in this one. history with the fact that four or five days after the seemingly sky-high number drawn for putin at the russian central election commission, this terrorist act takes place, well , the shooting of people, let’s talk, referring to russian propaganda or telegram channels, or the media, because the information is probably also filtered there, but what is it for now? to putin, even if he seemed to... well , he got 87%, or did he get 87%, he can say: "russia is one, and we are one with the people, the people support us in the war against

russia, against the whole world." why did he arrange this whole story with the shooting near moscow? well, this is really interesting, because you said that we should not talk about the elections, yes, but it turns out that this is a continuation of this story, because if it was necessary to arrange such a thing, literally immediately after the elections, then the impression that probably after all, it did not happen, the elections did not show such support and did not show exactly... support for the war, as the kremlin authorities would like, that is , there is support for something, but it may not be of the same volume, secondly, most likely, it it's not exactly military support, well , you understand, yes, and then look at another interesting thing, well, first of all , the suburbs of moscow were affected again, let's remember that houses were blown up by the fsb also near moscow, and in moscow too, on

kashivskyi . but well, somehow , literally nothing can be done without the moscow region, but here it is not even interesting, but it is interesting that i just think that there should be a full-fledged production, if we see it, we, they , they can still show someone, something like that, well, there must be something like that, because i can already see how they unfold it, turned upside down, all the tv news, they took off all the programs, it is already happening now , that is, all the broadcasts will now be about it, putin’s headquarters in the kremlin is working at night, putin is working, so in the morning we will see the full production, i already hope, that is, they are already saying, that they detained someone, that is, it will be a full-fledged theater, absolutely full-fledged, but you have to understand, well, you can imagine, it is literally

packed with security guards, the fsb, all of moscow and the moscow region, and there some people suddenly run with weapons, you are not funny, and they run away somewhere into the unknown, and they are not found, and and no one detains them right there at the exit, well, this is funny, because any mass event in russia, any concert, not a concert, we saw it on other news, when concerts of other artists took place, and, for example, these concerts were interrupted, there came some there... like russian eyes, all mad rashists disrupted concerts , the police were drawn there even before anything happened, because there is an absolutely clear protocol that any mass gathering where , roughly speaking, more than three people gather, the fsb and the police must be there, there were none here. yes, well, tell someone, but don't tell us, because we know that they are always there,

if you go to any... even to watch a movie, they definitely have the fsb and rosgvardia there, definitely , it's just a protocol, it's like in the soviet union, excuse me, there it's all restored in full, it wasn't here and they escaped these, like these , it's all a complete lie, then one more point, which i think is also very important in this whole story, pay attention, it took exactly this type of terrorist attack, what does it say, well , first, this is the whole story. this terrorist attack immediately pushed into the background the fact that belgorod is being bombed and all these conversations, moreover , well, the bombing of belgorod was not changed by anyone there, you know, entertainment programs, no one filmed it, this means that when military operations are taking place on the territory russia, in belgarada kursk, when their infrastructure is destroyed, it does not cause the russian

people any righteous anger. it does not unify in any way, because the russian people clearly understand what is for what, this is just a normal retaliatory strike within the framework of military operations, and all these people are telling you some delusion about what they will strengthen there, they finally, no, this does not unite everything, from the point of view of military operations, you can do anything, no russian people will unite there for anything and there will be no response, the response is such... directly there won't be any, only a terrorist attack , that's why the terrorist attack is an absolutely fsb story, they are familiar with it, they really perceive the terrorist attack as something painful, as some kind of way out, well, according to the rules, it's outside the rules of war, that's why the terrorist attack, that's why, and that's why we're watching it all , i say that we will watch a full-fledged performance right away tomorrow morning. thank you.