By March 2023, Russian invaders had established sandbag fighting positions on the roofs of several of the six reactor buildings at Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Energodar (Zaporizhia region), according to an update from Defence Intelligence of the UK published on Twitter on Thursday morning, citing imagery from the site.

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

However, direct catastrophic damage to the reactors is unlikely under most plausible scenarios involving infantry weapons because the structures are very heavily reinforced, Defence Intelligence said.