"The situation is quite tense because the threat of sabotage from the Kyiv regime is really high -- sabotage that could have catastrophic consequences," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russia was planning "dangerous provocations" at plant, the largest in Europe.

Russia and Ukraine have regularly accused each other of putting the plant's safety at risk since the Kremlin launched large-scale hostilities in Ukraine last February.

"The Kyiv regime has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness not to rule anything out. Most recently, we saw this during the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, also with horrific consequences," Peskov said.

Kyiv and its allies say Moscow's forces last month destroyed the Russia-controlled Kakhovka dam, flooding huge swathes of the Kherson region, leaving dozens dead and forcing thousands to flee.

"All measures are being taken to counter such a threat," Peskov said, referring to the plant.

An advisor to Russia's Rosatom nuclear agency, Renat Karchaa, accused Kyiv earlier this week of planning an attack on the plant on the night of July 5.

The UN's nuclear energy agency has deployed a team of observers to the plant and the agency's head Rafael Grossi said Tuesday there were no plans to redeploy the group.