MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Kirill Budanov acknowledged that GUR special operations forces made three attempts to attack and capture the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which were repelled by Russian forces.

According to Budanov, in August, 2022, the special operations forces crossed the Kakhovka Reservoir near Energodar using fast-moving boats in order to establish a foothold on the left bank for an attempted assault on the ZNPP. They were forced to retreat, Budanov said in interview for Ukraine’s NV.

After that, the GUR made two more attempts to land on the left bank of Dnieper in order to capture the power plant. The last operation involved several hundred personnel, including commander of the so-called "foreign legion" Vadim Popik, as well as mercenaries from New Zealand and other foreigners. During the third attempt, Russian forces moved heavy vehicles, including tanks, to the shoreline, so the Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat.

The Ukrainian attempt to cross the Kakhovka Reservoir and capture the power plant was reported on October 19, 2022, by Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.

Earlier, chairman of the ‘We are Together with Russia’ movement Vladimir Rogov reported that Ukrainian forces were training several hundred personnel for new attempts to capture the power plant. According to Rogov, Ukraine’s actions indicate that Kiev has not abandoned plans to capture the ZNPP. On October 4 this year, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS that the situation around the power plant is complicated, adding that Kiev’s attempts to destabilize the situation there won’t stop.