Russia preparing provocation at occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – General Staff

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.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine officially inform about the possible preparation of a provocation in the near future on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian terrorists since March 4, 2022, the statement reads.

The explosion of such devices should not damage the power units, but it can create an image of shelling from Ukraine, which is what Russian media and telegram channels are misinforming about.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not violate international humanitarian law, monitor and control the situation and are ready to act under any circumstances. Not a single enemy provocation will be tolerated, the press service emphasized.

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.

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.