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SHATURA GRES ATTACKED BY DRONES
Ukraine’s drones did a double-tap this morning on the Shatura GRES in the Moscow region, confirmed by OSINT analysis of footage taken from various eyewitnesses, as Mayor Sobayanin reported three drones shot down in the early hours.
Residents of the city of Shatura reported explosions and the attack on the local GRES in social media, uploading videos which allowed OSINT analysts to determine the footage was from Zharova Street, approximately 1.6 kilometres from the GRES.
As a result, its confirmed that the Shatura GRES caught fire due to the attack, resulting in the power unit catching fire, which is an infrastructure complex through which the plant transmits the generated electricity to the unified power system.
ExileNova reported that one video showed burning in the area of two transformers of power units with a capacity of 210MW, where a column of visible fire was formed by damage to the gas distribution station that supplies the 400MW power unit of German manufacture, calculating the total loss of power generation to around 820MW.
Due to some of the power units of the power plant being under repair at the time of the attack, exactly which ones were damaged was difficult to determine, so is the overall degree of generation loss to the plant.
Supernova reported that at least ten generator trucks and support were heading to the plant this morning to help provide backup power.
Footage released this morning showed that damage had been caused to the turbine hall of an 80MW power unit, potentially increasing power losses to 900MW, and the damage was also confirmed by Russian media.
“This morning, an attack by drones was carried out at the Shatura GRES. Some of the drones were destroyed by air defence forces, several fell on the station’s territory. A fire broke out at the facility, it is now localised, emergency services continue to work.
“Power supply in the city is not disrupted – switching to backup lines was carried out promptly. To support heating until the situation is fully stabilised, we sent block-modular boiler houses to the district. The head of the district and all services are working on site. The situation is under control and there is no threat to residents,” the message said.
According to etorostov, the Ministry of Emergency Situations had later confirmed this morning that three transformers at the facility had caught fire.
Later this morning a second strike occurred and other explosions were recorded at the Shatura plant by residents, taken from the north road of the power plant, around 400 metres from the previous filming point, and around 700 metres to the new explosion.
A press release from the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Moscow Region said: “At the time of arrival of the first fire and rescue unit, burning of 3 transformers over 65 sq. m. was observed, and further information is being clarified.”
Soon after the second attack, residents reported disruptions to the heating supply, so Governor Vorobyov was forced to make a statement: “Water, sewage, and electricity supply in the city of Shatura are operating normally. All measures are being taken for the prompt restoration of heating supply.
“At 13:00, a headquarters meeting will be held on site with the participation of all services, including the Ministry of Emergency Situations, to determine further steps for infrastructure reconstruction.”
An update around 15:00 from the Moscow Region Governor stated that electricity, cold water and sewage were operating normally, and the fire at the GRES had been extinguished, but the extinguishing and cooling were ongoing, with full elimination of the consequences planned by 17:00.
Confirmation of20 block-modular boiler houses was again given by the governor, who said that the priority was given to restoring heat in healthcare facilities and the nursing home for the elderly, before connecting the hospitals, so 3 teams from MOS AVC and 6 teams from Mosoblvodokanal were involved.
Installation of taps into the heating main had already begun, with circulation due to be launched within two hours of the report, while at the same time heat supply to the Kerva microdistrict would also be restarted.
To speed up the work, 20 emergency teams from neighbouring districts had been sent, while a reserve was being prepared that would provide heaters and additional heat sources if they were required.
The V.I. Lenin Shatura GRES is a thermal power plant with a capacity of 1500MW, also one of the oldest power plants in Russia according to open data, founded in 1920 during the implementation of the GOELRO plan, and the plant participates in providing electricity and heat for the Moscow region.
