Russian forces plan to evict more than 3,000 workers from the city that serves the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear plant, creating a “catastrophic shortage” of personnel, Ukraine’s state-owned Energoatom announced today.

Last week, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the situation around the Russian-held nuclear plant was “potentially dangerous” after Moscow-appointed officials began evacuating people from nearby areas.

Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported on Monday that the Moscow-appointed governor of the Russian-controlled part of the surrounding region had suspended operations at the plant.

Ukraine’s Energoatom said it had received information it was preparing to evacuate some 3,100 people from the southern city of Enerhodar, including 2,700 workers who had signed contracts with the Russian-appointed administration.

“The Russian occupiers demonstrate their inability to ensure the operation of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, as there is now a catastrophic shortage of qualified personnel,” it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“Even those Ukrainian workers who had signed sleazy contracts…will be removed soon. And this will exacerbate the already extremely urgent issue of having sufficient staff to ensure the safe operation of the nuclear plant even during the current shutdown.”

Reuters was unable to independently cross-reference these reports. The Russian side did not immediately comment.

Ukraine is widely expected to soon launch a counter-offensive to try to push back Russian forces, with commentators claiming that recapturing the entire region of Zaporizhia is one of its aims.