Russia Stations Soldiers Atop Nuclear Reactors As Ukraine Attack Fears Grow

Russia is stationing soldiers atop nuclear reactors at Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, according to the British Ministry of Defense.

In its latest assessment of the conflict in Ukraine, which hit the 14-month mark on April 24, the ministry said that based on imagery from 2023, Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia have established "sandbag fighting positions" on the roofs of several of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's (ZNPP) six reactor buildings.

The nuclear plant has been under Russian control since March 1, 2022, just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. It was one of the first sites to be seized by Russian forces. Its six reactors are currently in shutdown mode, and its one remaining power line is supplying the electricity needed to prevent a reactor meltdown.

The ministry's latest assessment comes as Russia braces for an anticipated counteroffensive from Ukraine to recapture its occupied territories—Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and Crimea.

"Russia has controlled ZNPP since March 2022. However, this is the first indication of the actual reactor buildings being integrated in tactical defence planning," it said.

The U.K.'s ministry of defense assessed that Russia has likely constructed these positions because it is increasingly concerned about the prospects of a major Ukrainian offensive.

"The move highly likely increases the chances of damage to ZNPP safety systems if fighting takes place around ZNPP," it said.

It concluded, however, that direct catastrophic damage to the reactors is unlikely under most plausible scenarios involving infantry weapons because the structures are very heavily reinforced.

When the ZNPP was seized by Russian forces in March 2022, there was widespread concern about a potential nuclear catastrophe at the plant, which remained a target of shelling as Ukrainian and Russian forces clashed in the region. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other's forces of shelling the plant.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky late last month that more than a year on, the situation at nuclear power plant "isn't getting any better" due to ongoing fighting in the area.

He said a heavy military presence remains at the ZNPP.

"Without an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and staff from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and adjacent areas, any initiatives on restoring nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure," Zelensky told Grossi.

"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 worldwide nuclear power," he said in a video address to the nation later that day.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry via email for comment.

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