Kiev, 23 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again accused Russia of preparing an "act of terror" at the occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

"They have prepared everything for this," the Ukrainian head of state said on Thursday in a video circulated on social networks.

Zelensky said that he had received corresponding information from the Ukrainian secret service SBU. "Radioactivity knows no borders," he warned.

On Wednesday, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, had already spoken about Russian preparations to blow up the important cooling water pond at the power plant. The cooling systems of the interim nuclear waste storage facility and the shutdown reactors receive water from this pond. Moscow has denied the allegations.

The reservoir located at the power plant has dried up to a large extent following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on the lower reaches of the Dnipro river earlier this month. The water supply of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which has six reactors, is now at risk.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the water in the cooling water pond will last for several more weeks.

The nuclear power plant was occupied by Russia after its invasion some 16 months ago. Fighting is now feared around the power plant as part of the Ukrainian counter-offensive that began at the beginning of June.

Photo: archive