‘Zero Missiles Left’ - Zelensky Says Ukraine's Air Defence Resources Depleted

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Russians managed to destroy the Trypillya thermal power plant because Ukraine had completely run out of missiles to protect it amid a lack of help from allies.

"Why? Because there were zero missiles. We have run out of all the missiles that protected Trypillya," Zelensky said.

Speaking to the PBS news hour on Tuesday, April 16, Zelensky underlined Ukraine’s air defences' critical condition. 

“I'll give you a very simple example,” he said.

“Eleven missiles were launched towards the Trypillya [thermal power] station, upon which the electricity supply in the Kyiv region depends. We managed to intercept the first seven, but the remaining four hit Trypillya. Why? Because we had zero missiles left. We have exhausted all the missiles that were defending Trypillya,” the President added.

Russia initiated attacks on energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Kyiv regions early morning on Thursday, April 11. 

Ukraine's Air Defense Forces reported the destruction of 21 Russian Shahed attack drones over the Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions. As a result of the attack, the Trypillya TPP was completely destroyed.

Subsequently, the Russian military conducted an airstrike of “smart bombs” on a combined heating and power plant (CHPP) in the Sumy region, part of its critical infrastructure, which led to a large-scale fire in the turbine workshop.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said that Kyiv has "fully prepared" its "victory plan" to end the war with Russia, which he has said he will discuss with US leader Joe Biden.

In response to the targeting of critical infrastructure, Zelensky used this example to once again call upon Ukraine’s allies to urgently supply the weapons Kyiv needs, particularly air defense launchers and missiles.

“Frankly speaking, without this assistance, we stand little chance of victory, because we need to be significantly stronger than our adversaries. The current ratio of artillery shells stands at 1 to 10. Can we endure for much longer? No,” Zelensky said.