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Russia wants to disconnect Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the largest in Europe — from the electricity grid, Ukrainian nuclear energy agency Energoatom said, warning that Moscow was laying the groundwork for a “large-scale provocation.”

Russian forces have controlled the plant since March and it’s been the site of months of shelling, prompting international leaders to sound the alarm over risks of a nuclear catastrophe.

“There is information that the Russian occupation forces are planning to shut down the power blocks and disconnect them from the power supply lines to the Ukrainian power system in the near future,” Energoatom said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

 “The Russian military is currently looking for fuel suppliers for the diesel generators, which are supposed to turn on after the power units are shut down in the absence of an external power supply for the nuclear fuel cooling systems,” the statement said.    

Moscow, meanwhile, accused Kyiv of planning a “provocation” at the site, saying Ukraine is shelling at its own nuclear facility in order to blame Russia. Ukrainian and Western officials warn that is a sign Russia’s military could be preparing for a “false-flag attack”. 

— Natasha Turak

Two Russian MiG-31 fighter jets are suspected to have violated Finnish airspace, Finland’s Defense Ministry said.

“The depth of the suspected violation into Finnish airspace was one kilometer” over the city of Porvoo on Finland’s southern coast and lasted about two minutes, the ministry’s head of communications Kristian Vakkuri said. Vakkuri added that possible violation happened at 6:40 a.m. GMT on Thursday, or 9:40 a.m. local time, and the jets were flying westward.

The ministry did not say whether the planes were escorted out.

Finland’s air force activated an “operational flight mission,” identifying the MiG jets, and its Border Guard has opened an investigation into the incident, the ministry added.

Finland and Russia share an 800 mile border, and Helsinki has warned of Russian provocations to come as the Nordic country awaits full approval of its NATO membership bid, which upends decades of its historically nonaligned position vis-a-vis Russia.

— Natasha Turak

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is one of the most consistently shelled cities in the country because it’s directly in Russia’s line of fire, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence update on Twitter.

The front line in this area has not moved much since May, the ministry said, but “sitting around 15 km (9.3 miles) from the Russian front line, Kharkiv has suffered because it remains within range of most types of Russian artillery. Multiple rocket launchers and generally inaccurate area weapons have caused devastation across large parts of the city.”

On Wednesday, Russian missile strikes on residential areas of Kharkiv killed at least 12 civilians, Ukrainian authorities said. Less than half of the city’s pre-war population of 1.4 million people still remain; the rest have fled to other countries or other parts of Ukraine.

Russian forces “are probably trying to force Ukraine to maintain significant forces on this front, to prevent them from being employed as a counter-attack force elsewhere,” the ministry wrote.

— Natasha Turak

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to attend this year’s G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, a longtime advisor to Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Reuters.

All G-20 leaders were invited including Putin, despite launching an unprovoked war on Ukraine. Western countries have since called on Indonesia to withdraw its invitation to Putin.

Indonesia has also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit.

— Natalie Tham

The U.S. reiterated concerns regarding Russia’s military takeover and continued control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency must be given access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as soon as possible and in a manner that respects Ukraine’s full sovereignty to help ensure the safety and security of the plant and monitoring of its nuclear material,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a daily press briefing.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s reckless disregard for nuclear safety and security,” Price said, adding that Washington and its allies “call on Russia to cease all military operations at or near Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.”

Price also urged Russia to allow IAEA inspectors access to the nuclear power plant facility.

Russian forces took control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant shortly after a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

— Amanda Macias

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant should be demilitarized immediately.

Guterres, speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said “any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide.”

“Military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant. Further deployment of forces or equipment to the site must be avoided,” he added.

Guterres urged all parties to approve the International Atomic Energy Agency, a nuclear watchdog, to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

— Amanda Macias

Russia issues warning over the nuclear power plant it’s occupying; Kyiv urges inspection of damaged facility