KYIV -Ukraine's president declared that Russian troops were holding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "hostage" and that its safety could not be guaranteed until they left, while his forces closed the frontline town of Avdiivka while they planned their next move.

Russian troops have occupied Europe's largest nuclear power plant since the early days of the Ukrainian invasion and have shown no sign of relinquishing control.

"Holding a nuclear power station hostage for more than a year - this is surely the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of European or world-wide nuclear power," said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his nightly video address.

The Russian presence, according to him, was "radiation blackmail"

Following a meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi at the Dnipro hydroelectric power station, northeast of the Zaporizhzhia plant, he made these remarks.

Zelenskiy stated in remarks published on the presidential website that efforts to regain safety and security are "doomed to failure" without a withdrawal of Russian troops from the plant.

Frequently, Russia and Ukraine accuse one another of shelling the Zaporizhzhia plant. Fears of a nuclear disaster have grown as a result of fighting near it, concerns over a water shortage, and worries that cooling systems could run out of power.

Since September, an IAEA team has been stationed at the plant, which Kiev has accused Moscow of using as a shield for troops and military hardware.

Grossi has repeatedly called for a safety zone to be established around it, and he plans to visit it again this week. He has attempted to negotiate with both sides, but stated in January that reaching an agreement was becoming more difficult.

Zaporizhzhia is one of four regions Russia claimed to annex in September following sham referendums around the world. Russia claims ownership of the plant, which Ukraine denies.

On Monday, Zelenskiy visited the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, the latest stop on a tour of frontline regions since a top general said a counterattack by Ukraine could come soon.

In April and May, as the weather improves and more military aid, such as the battle tanks Leopard and Challenger, arrive, analysts anticipate that a Ukrainian counterattack will begin in earnest.

According to the German Defense Ministry, the 18 Leopard 2 tanks that Germany promised to send to Ukraine have arrived. These tanks are the mainstay of militaries throughout Europe.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated on Twitter that he was confident they could make a significant contribution on the front.

In spite of a Russian winter offensive, the front lines in Ukraine have hardly moved for more than four months. Prior to launching its own attack, the military of Ukraine wants to exhaust Russian forces.

Prior to any Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia's Wagner mercenary force, which is thought to have suffered significant losses in eastern Ukraine, is attempting to restock.

On the exterior of an office building in northeast Moscow, a sizable recruitment poster for the organization has appeared.

It features the Wagner logo, catchphrases like "Join the winning team!" and "Together we will win," as well as an image of a man in a mask holding a weapon.

While a Ukrainian general claimed his country's forces were preparing for their next move, it appears that Russian forces are concentrating on Avdiivka, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the battered mining town of Bakhmut.

An official from Ukraine declared Avdiivka a "post-apocalyptic" wasteland and closed the town to civilians on Monday.

The Ukrainian military has issued a warning that Avdiivka might turn into a "second Bakhmut" which has been reduced to ruins in months of fighting that both sides have referred to as a "meat grinder"

According to Russian forces, they are battling street by street.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, said this month that a counterattack was not "far off" He visited frontline troops in the east and said his forces were still fending off attacks on Bakhmut.

According to Ukrainian authorities, air defenses downed 12 drones Monday near Kyiv, and falling debris caused a non-residential site to catch fire. There were no casualties reported.

Ukraine's military reported early on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces destroyed 14 of the 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia launched on Ukraine over the course of the previous night.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, commented on the drone attacks on Telegram, saying that "the logic of the Russians' actions is terror aimed at civilian infrastructure," Like geopolitical blackmail, it will not work.

Since Putin's attempt to "demilitarize" Ukraine in the autumn stalled, he and other Russian officials have emphasized the possibility that the conflict could intensify and involve nuclear weapons. He claimed to have reached an agreement on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The plan has been condemned by Ukraine and its allies in the West.