July 5, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian officials said they have procedures in place for a potential Russian assault on the Zaporizhzhia power plant, as Kyiv warned of a provocation from the Kremlin at the facility.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar warned Moscow is capable of "completely reckless actions" that could it try to pass off as sabotage by Ukraine. At the same time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there is a "great threat of sabotage by Kyiv" at the plant, which could have "catastrophic consequences."

Maliar said on Wednesday: "In order to minimize potential negative consequences, emergency services have been training for several days in four Ukrainian regions -- Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv -- to overcome the consequences of a possible terrorist attack on the ZNPP."

Russia could attack the plant, she warned, to turn the momentum of the war in its favor and "achieve its military goals," she added.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin on Tuesday of possibly planting explosives on the roof of the Zaporizhzhia plant, an assertion based on military intelligence. 

Radiation levels are "within normal limits" and in the 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) zone around impacted power plants and areas around Chernobyl are "within monthly average values," according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials in Nikopol in southern Ukraine said the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant is operating normally and there have been no "significant movements of occupiers' manpower and equipment." 

Local military official Yurii Malashko echoed Maliar and said that while Russian forces are "unpredictable," Ukrainian special forces are ready for any dangerous development and have "checked the necessary equipment and worked out response plans."  

The Ukrainian state energy company Energoatom said the water level in the cooling pond is "stable and under control," despite a Russian attack on the Kakhovka dam, which provides water for cooling the plant, causing extensive flooding in the nearby Kherson region. 

Russian-installed officials in Zaporizhzhia rebuffed concerns raised by Ukrainian authorities, saying "everything is normal," and the plant is operational. 

CNN's Anna Chernova, Radina Gigova and Svitlana Vlasova contributed reporting.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin navigates the aftermath of last month's stunning Wagner insurrection, he will be trying to "consolidate his society," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an exclusive CNN interview.

He added that Putin had been notably out of public sight since a secretive Kremlin deal ended the mercenary group's brief, chaotic rebellion.

"After all these events, where did Putin go?" Zelensky said. "He rarely comes outside to the street. We see him in his offices, etc., but we never see him out and about."

Behind the scenes: Some analysts agree that Putin is likely working behind the scenes to calm any troubled waters in the Kremlin and secure his position.

He added that Putin's moves may not be "very visible to external observers, but he will do everything, like any authoritarian leader would do, to make sure that his grip on power is strong, especially now when there is war."

CNN's Jessie Yeung contributed reporting to this post.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country's intelligence showed the Kremlin was measuring support for Yevgeny Prigozhin — head of the Wagner paramilitary group, which led a short-lived insurrection last month — and claimed half of Russia had supported the mutiny.

The insurrection saw Wagner fighters, led by Prigozhin, seize control of military facilities in two Russian cities and march toward Moscow before a secretive deal with the Kremlin abruptly ended the rebellion. Prigozhin pulled back his forces, and has since been exiled to Belarus.

The incident has been widely framed by Western analysts as a threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin's veneer of total control, with speculation about what this could mean for the war as Ukraine continues its slow counteroffensive.

Though Russian public support for the war remains high, this crack was illustrated at the end of the insurrection, when Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters prepared to depart the city of Rostov-on-Don.

A video verified and geolocated by CNN showed Prigozhin’s vehicle stopping as a resident approached to shake the Wagner boss’ hand; around them, residents cheered.

Watch moment:

Editor's Note: Erin Burnett’s full interview with Volodymyr Zelensky airs Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.

The neighboring regions of Belgorod and Kursk in southwestern Russia were attacked by shelling from across their borders with Ukraine, Russian officials claimed Wednesday.

In a statement on Telegram, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the shelling lasted more than an hour as Ukrainian forces fired 12 shells from "Grad" multiple rocket launchers.

One woman suffered a shrapnel wound to her chest, he added.

Homes in both regions and a school in Kursk were damaged, according to their governors. 

CNN cannot independently verify the claims.

Remember: Attacks on Russian soil, particularly in regions bordering Ukraine, have increased in recent months as the effects of the Kremlin's war reverberate onto its own territory. On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry said it intercepted five Ukrainian drones near Moscow in what it called a "terrorist" attack.

Last year, the world watched closely as China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi of India and other world leaders within a Moscow-friendly group gathered in the Uzbek city of Samarkand for a high-profile, two-day summit.

The spotlight was on how each of the attending leaders interacted with Putin — who at the time was more than six months into a brutal invasion of Ukraine that had sparked a humanitarian disaster, roiled the global economy and triggered global food insecurity.

This time around, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit’s host country India appeared keen to avoid that kind of scrutiny, opting instead for a virtual summit — a muted arrangement that may have also suited the SCO’s two leading members, Putin and Xi.

India’s summit, which took place Tuesday afternoon, lasted roughly three hours and culminated with the release of a joint declaration some 5,000 words shorter than the one released in Samarkand.

Also missing were the typical group photos, chummy dinner and opportunities for sideline meetings between heads of state from the body of leaders from Eurasia that Russia and China have long seen as a critical means to counter so-called Western influence in the region.

But observers say that Modi — who has been busy tightening India’s ties with the United States, including during a state visit late last month — was likely keen to avoid the optics of welcoming Putin and Xi to the capital for an SCO summit.

Read the full analysis here.

Russia said it foiled a drone attack near Moscow on Tuesday while Ukraine said it was making gains around Bakhmut.

Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister said Russia is "throwing all its forces" to try and stop Kyiv’s advances near the devastated eastern city.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is "the only source of danger" to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as he warned of a potential provocation from Moscow at the facility.

Here's what else you need to know about the war:

Two people were killed and dozens of others injured, including children, following Ukrainian shelling of the eastern city of Donetsk on Tuesday, Russian-installed authorities said.

Alexei Kulemzin, the occupied city's Moscow-backed mayor, said in a Telegram post that two people died in Petrovskiy district after sustained shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) throughout the day. 

Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said a 2-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy were among 25 people injured in Makiivka district.

A number of apartment buildings, a school and kindergarten were damaged, he added.

Russia is "the only source of danger" to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the world must be ready to respond to possible disasters quickly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, as he warned of a potential provocation from Moscow at the facility.

Tuesday marked 16 months since Russian forces took full control of the plant, Zelensky said in his nightly address. The position of the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, on the front lines of the war means shelling nearby is common and it has frequently been disconnected from Ukraine's power grid — repeatedly raising fears of a nuclear accident. 

Zelensky claimed Ukrainian intelligence has information that "Russian troops have placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units" of the facility, "Perhaps to simulate an attack on the plant. Perhaps they have some other scenario," he said.

Military warning: Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also warned of a "possible provocation in the near future" on the territory of the plant, saying "items similar to explosive devices were placed on the external roof of the third and fourth power units of ZNPP."

"Their detonation is not expected to damage the power units, but may create an impression of shelling from Ukraine," the Armed Forces said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a phone call to coordinate their positions ahead of the alliance’s upcoming summit in Vilnius.

A former prime minister of Norway and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, Stoltenberg became NATO’s Secretary General in October 2014.

On Tuesday, he announced his term was extended for a further year.

Ukraine is expected to be at the top of the agenda when the leaders of the military alliance meet in the Lithuanian capital next week.