The Ukrainian state-owned nuclear company Energoatom announced on Tuesday that Russian forces had pulled two more armored personnel carriers and six trucks into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant located in the Russian-occupied town of Energodar, The Kyiv Independent reported.

Now in Russia, there are more than 40 units of military equipment at the plant, Energoatom reports. Russia has also deployed additional troops there, the company said.

Russia has recently carried out artillery and airstrikes in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine’s General Staff says, where fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is raising fears of a catastrophic nuclear incident.

The attacks took place on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday, which celebrates liberation from the Soviet regime. Kyiv banned public holidays because of the threat of further attacks.

The US Embassy in Kyiv also warned of Russia’s plans to strike civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days.

The UN demands the demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia plant

Last week, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that any accident at the Zaporizhia NPP would be “suicide”.

“We have to say it like it is: any potential breakdowns in Zaporizhzhia would be suicide,” Guterres said during a visit to Lviv, western Ukraine.

He once again called for the “demilitarization” of the factory, which is now occupied by the Russian military.

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