The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is under increasing pressure from Russia which controls the area. President Zelensky announced that Moscow may be preparing an attack on the infrastructure. On the other hand, Russia said it had stopped several Ukrainian drones launched in the direction of its capital Moscow.
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Once again Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky warned of possible Russian threats around the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). Zelensky said that Moscow was provoking Ukraine by planting explosives on top of the plant.
“Now, our intelligence services inform us that the Russian military has installed explosive-like objects on the roofs of several ZNPP power plants. Maybe to simulate an attack on the power plant. Maybe they have another scenario. Be that as it may, the world can see that the only source of danger for the Zagreb nuclear power plant is Russia itself, and no one else,” Zelenski declared on Tuesday, July 4, in a video posted on his Twitter account.
Now we have information from our intelligence that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Perhaps to simulate an attack on the plant. Perhaps they have some other scenario. But in… pic.twitter.com/RWbykc72cL
— Volodimir Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) July 4, 2023
Zelensky also reported that he had warned his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, of “dangerous provocations” by Russia.
“We have agreed to follow the situation as closely as possible, together with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” added the Ukrainian president.
The Zaporizhia region has been occupied by Russia since the beginning of the war in February 2022. The IAEA has warned several times of its concern regarding the nuclear power plant, whose security depends on the Russian occupier.
Russia stops Ukrainian drones
This Tuesday, Moscow reported that its air defense system intercepted several Ukrainian drones on its territory, launched against the Moscow region.
“This morning, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack involving five UAVs against objects in the Moscow region and New Moscow was thwarted,” military spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. .
While 4 of these drones were destroyed, a fifth crashed in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region. The defense department assured that there were no victims or material damage.
However, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, María Zajárova, denounced that the attempted attack took place in areas where there is civilian infrastructure, such as the Vnúkovo airport.
“The international community must realize that the United States, the United Kingdom and France, permanent members of the UN Security Council, finance the terrorist regime,” he said on Telegram.
As a consequence of these attacks, several commercial flights were affected. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin explained that, for security reasons, several flights had been diverted from the capital’s Vnukovo airport to other airfields.
New bombardments in Kharkiv
Ukraine reported attacks against civilian infrastructure in the city of Pervomaisky, in the Kharkiv region, which left several injured on Tuesday. According to kyiv, at least 31 people, including nine children, had to be hospitalized after the incident.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the parking lot outside a residential building was hit. Images of burned and destroyed cars were published.
“The Russians will fire a high-explosive shell,” said the head of the kyiv presidential office, Andriy Yermak.
Pervomaisky is a city of about 28,000 inhabitants located about 80 kilometers south of the regional capital, Kharkiv. This region has been the target of intense Russian attacks since the start of the war as it borders Russia.
Fierce military battle in Bakhmut
One of the most active fronts currently is the Bakhmut front, where both camps fight and switch positions often.
“In the Bakhmut area there has been an escalation again. The duel to seize the initiative continues,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malia said.
According to the deputy minister, Russia would have three lines of defense to respond to Ukrainian attacks.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive began a month ago and continues on the southern and eastern front of the country. kyiv would have been able to recapture more than 158 square kilometers in the south since the start of the operation. According to the commander of this front, the kyiv forces have inflicted casualties to the Russian troops equivalent to “almost three companies” in the last 24 hours.
However, Zelensky continues to call for more air defense systems to better protect against attacks launched from the sky.
“Unfortunately, our state still does not have enough quality air defense systems to protect our entire territory and shoot down all enemy targets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
On Monday, an airstrike on the northeastern region of Sumi killed three people.
With EFE and AFP
