The Russian military had established firing positions on the roofs of several of the six reactor buildings at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

The Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom released satellite images featuring these positions.

The images show that by March 2023, Russian troops had established sandbag fighting positions on the roofs of several of the six reactor buildings at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

“This is the first indication of the actual reactor buildings being integrated into tactical defense planning,” the UK Ministry of Defense stated.

The intelligence service noted that Russia has likely constructed these positions because it is “increasingly” concerned about the prospects of the Ukrainian offensive.

“The move highly likely increases the chances of damage to ZNPP safety systems if fighting takes place around ZNPP,” the UK Ministry of Defense said.

At the same time, they emphasize that “direct catastrophic damage to the reactors” is unlikely under most plausible scenarios involving infantry weapons as the structures are “very heavily reinforced” and should withstand it.

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in March 2022, shortly after the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Energoatom enterprise has been reporting on the pressure of the Russian military on the plant’s personnel.

An April 21 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency states that IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have heard shelling almost every day for the past week.

During a recent visit to Ukraine, IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi stated that he was working on a compromise security plan for the ZNPP and warned against increasing military activity around it.

In addition, there was information about a Russian mine detonating near the 4th power unit of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.