Russia prepares to damage Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Zelensky warns

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address, citing intelligence, that Russia is "preparing a provocation" at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

According to Zelensky, Russian forces placed explosives on the roof of two power units.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported in its evening update that Russian troops are preparing a strike "in the near future."

"Their detonation should not damage power units but may create a picture of shelling by Ukraine's military," the General Staff said.

Meanwhile, Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Russia's nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom, claimed that "Ukraine is going to attack" the nuclear power plant with "precision weapons and kamikaze drones" overnight on July 5, according to the Russian state-controlled agencies.

Karchaa claimed Ukraine intended to hit the plant with a Tochka, Soviet-made tactical ballistic missile, "with a warhead filled with radioactive waste."

Russia has regularly blamed Ukraine for attacks it itself has perpetrated.

"Now the whole world must realize that common security depends entirely on global attention to the occupiers' actions at the station," said Zelensky.

Amid the situation around the nuclear plant, Ukraine's Health Ministry issued recommendations on how to behave in a contaminated zone.

Yet, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, in his press statement on July 4 didn't mention any new installations on the power units' rooftops nor the possible provocation by the Russian forces.

Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant again lost connection to its main external power line overnight on July 4, Ukraine's state nuclear energy agency Energoatom reported.

The biggest nuclear power plant in Europe, located in the occupied city of Enerhodar, switched to the only available 330 kilovolt (kV) backup power line, which was recently reconnected after being inactive since March 1.

By July 1, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant relied exclusively on the only main power line for external electricity needed for reactor cooling and other critical functions.

Before the Russian occupation in March 2022, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had six backup lines and four main lines of 750 kV.

Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been experiencing major off-site power problems since Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and effectively occupied the power plant.

Russian forces have been using the nuclear plant as a military base to launch attacks against Ukrainian-controlled territory across the Dnipro River.

Due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure, the plant has been fully disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid several times, having to resort to diesel generators.

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