MELITOPOL, 19 August. /TASS/. Ukraine’s special services blew up a power transmission tower in Melitopol, while a second sabotage attack was prevented, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the chief council of the Zaporozhye Region military-civilian administration, reported on Friday.

"A terrorist attack by special services [of Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky was thwarted in Melitopol. Around noon on August 17, the police of the Zaporozhye Region received information about a blast 500 meters from the "Yuzhny" post in Melitopol. As it turned out, one of the four power transmission towers was destroyed by blast, but the power supply was not disrupted," Rogov wrote on his Telegram channel.

Police cynologists found another explosive device with a timer set to 12:40 on one of the three remaining towers. The explosive device was neutralized, he blogged.

The aim of the attack was "to disrupt the unified energy system of the region and prevent the flow of electricity from the [Zaporozhye] nuclear power plant," he said.

Earlier, Rogov said that up to 12 terrorist attacks were thwarted in the Zaporozhye Region in July. The regional authorities point out that Kiev is trying to hinder the return to peaceful life in the region. In recent months, there have been assassination attempts on officials, explosions near the region’s main directorate of the Interior Ministry, at a power station in Berdyansk, and other incidents.