MELITOPOL, July 31. /TASS/. Russian forces have carried out strikes on Ukrainian special operations units, deployed on the right bank of the Dnieper, which were preparing to cross the river in an attempt to seize the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Vladimir Rogov, leader of the We Are Together With Russia movement, told TASS on Monday.

"Today, they [Russian troops] did a good job in Marganets and Nikopol. Now they are focused on Krivoy Rog and Kherson. It’s all about countering the Ukrainian military’s plans to cross the Dnieper and attack Energodar and the ZNPP. The Ukrainian army’s special operation forces are on the right bank there. Alexander Tarnavsky (commander of the Ukrainian army’s Tavria group - TASS) has given orders for combat readiness and preparations to move out," Rogov said.

Earlier, Rogov told TASS that the Ukrainian army might try to launch an attack on Energodar and the ZNPP in late July, when the bottom of the reservoir, which disappeared after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, dries up.

"The width of the Dnieper in this area has decreased significantly, making the river much easier to cross," he explained.

Rogov noted that the Ukrainian army had already conducted some preparatory activities. In particular, it has test-driven light armored vehicles on the bottom of the reservoir to see if they could move easily on this terrain.

The ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. At the end of February 2022, the facility was taken over by Russian forces.