Officials in Russia and Ukraine continue to accuse each other of plotting to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine's south, while a Russian missile attack killed four in the west on Thursday.

Ukraine says Russian troops that have occupied the plant placed objects that look like explosives on the roofs of plant facilities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is requesting additional onsite inspections over the allegations.

Ukraine has been on alert over what it calls a possible act of terrorism as its intelligence agency reported on June 30 that Russians at the plant had been told to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's defense intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with a British newspaper that the threat of Russian sabotage is receding.

The Times online edition on Wednesday quoted Budanov as saying he now thinks "the danger of an artificial technogenic catastrophe is quietly going down."

Russians are sharply at odds. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insists that the Ukrainian side is planning to sabotage the plant. He said on Wednesday that the situation is "quite tense."

The US think tank Institute for the Study of War said on Wednesday that Russia's accusations are a possible "false flag" attack aimed at putting the blame on Ukraine.

But the institute said Russia remains "unlikely to cause a radiological incident at this time."
It said the information operation is likely aimed at undermining support for Ukraine ahead of the NATO summit starting on July 11.

Ukraine's interior ministry reported on Thursday that Russia's missile attack in the western city of Lviv killed four people and injured 37.

The city's mayor said in a social media post that it was the "largest attack on the civilian infrastructure of Lviv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Russia on social media, saying, "There will definitely be a response to the enemy. A strong one."