Ukrainian drone attack struck the Shatura Thermal Power Plant, a key energy facility approximately 120 km east of Moscow, early Sunday, causing a fire and damaging critical equipment, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed.

The Soviet-era plant, which supplies both electricity and district heating to parts of the Moscow region, was hit after several drones penetrated its perimeter. Russian air defenses downed some of the incoming unmanned aerial vehicles, but others crashed inside the facility, igniting a blaze that authorities later described as “localized.”

Governor Vorobyov reported that three large power transformers — each covering roughly 65 square meters — were damaged in the strike. In response, emergency services immediately activated backup power systems and deployed mobile heating units to affected residential areas as outdoor temperatures remained near freezing.

Local residents reported interruptions to central heating. “There is no heating at all right now,” one witness told Russian media from a nearby settlement. No casualties have been reported from the incident.

The Shatura plant is one of several major thermal power stations that help keep the broader Moscow region powered and heated during winter. Sunday’s attack marks a rare instance of Ukrainian drones successfully reaching energy infrastructure so close to the Russian capital.

The strike fits into an escalating pattern of long-range Ukrainian drone operations targeting Russian oil refineries, power plants, and other energy assets in recent months — actions Kyiv typically frames as legitimate retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukraine’s own power grid.

Russian officials condemned the incident as a deliberate assault on civilian infrastructure that endangers ordinary residents during the cold season. Moscow has not yet announced its response, but previous similar attacks have been followed by intensified Russian missile and drone barrages against Ukrainian cities and energy facilities.

The full extent of the damage to Shatura’s transformers and the duration of any resulting power or heating disruptions remain unclear. Repairing or replacing large high-voltage transformers can take weeks or months under normal conditions and is complicated further by Western sanctions on specialized equipment. (ILKHA)