Skip to content
Edit post

General Staff: Russia preparing provocation at occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

by Dinara Khalilova July 4, 2023 8:00 PM 1 min read
A Russian serviceman patrols the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on May 1, 2022. (Photo by ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Russia may be preparing a provocation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant "in the near future," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on July 4.

Russian forces have placed objects similar to explosive devices on the roof of the plant's third and fourth power units, according to the General Staff. "Their detonation should not damage power units but may create a picture of shelling by Ukraine's military."

The General Staff added that it was monitoring the situation, ready to act "under any conditions."

On June 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, citing intelligence data, that Moscow was considering a terrorist attack on the nuclear power plant through radiation leakage.

Several days later, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told the New Stateman that Russia had completed preparations for the attack.

On July 1, Zelensky told Spanish reporters that another possibility was that Russian troops could give back the station under Ukrainian control after having mined it, only to blow it up remotely.

Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, since March 2022. They have used it as a military base to launch attacks at Ukrainian-controlled territory across the Dnipro River.

Official: Terrorism at nuclear plant will be considered nuclear attack
A terrorist attack against a nuclear plant would be considered equivalent to using nuclear weapons against civilians, National Security and Defense Council chief Oleksii Danilov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on June 30.

News Feed

2:29 PM

Baltic countries disconnected from Russia's power grid.

"This legacy of occupation meant that Moscow - which uses energy as a weapon - had control of the frequency," the ministry said in a statement on X. "That’s a critical element in maintaining reliable power supply. That dependency ends today!"
9:36 PM

Zelensky, Trump may meet in Washington next week.

"I will probably be meeting with President (Volodymyr) Zelensky next week, and I will probably be talking to President (Vladimir) Putin. I'd like to see the war end," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
5:43 PM

Bucha massacre suspect becomes top official in Russian region.

As a platoon commander at the 76th Airborne Assault Division, Mussagaleyev allegedly participated in Russia's brutal occupation of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, in February and March 2022, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Hundreds of civilians were massacred by Russian troops in Bucha at the time.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.