Ukrainians are gathering forces near a large nuclear power plant in the Zaporozhye region, on the opposite bank of the Dnieper from Energondar, the head of the city occupation administration admitted to the Russian media.

“According to the information we receive daily from [ρωσικό] The Ministry of Defense, from the National Guard, from other sources, there really is a certain concentration of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the other side of the Dnieper. There is a constant redeployment of troops, movement from place to place,” Alexander Volga told the Russian state television channel Rossiya 24 on Tuesday.

According to him, the city is preparing for possible challenges. “Something was planned and, of course, now we are preparing the city, perhaps for some events that may come from the other side. Both the units of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Guard, which are engaged in ensuring the security of both the city and [περιφέρειας] Zaporozhye, they are ready,” the commandant of the city said.

He clarified that there had been no bombardments of Energondar and the nuclear power plant located in it over the past 24 hours.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense and local pro-Russian authorities, shelling of the nuclear power plant and the city itself had previously occurred almost daily since mid-summer. The reactors were not stopped, but there were damages to the auxiliary support systems.

Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe and consists of six power units. Since February 28, it has been controlled by the Russian army.

Recently, only the fifth and sixth power units have been operating, but due to damage to power lines from bombing, they stopped several times. As a result, the last operating reactor was shut down on Sunday, and the station does not produce electricity.

Energy is supplied to the Russian-occupied part of the Zaporozhye region, bordering the Donbass, through Crimea, which has been occupied since 2014.

Source: Interfax