The United Kingdom denounced that Russia reestablished combat positions in the reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by Russian troops

The Intelligence services of the United Kingdom have affirmed this Thursday that the Russian forces “have established combat positions” on the roofs of several reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in southern Ukraine and controlled since March 2022, by which have pointed out that these facilities would be “integrated” in “tactical defense planning.”

“Satellite images show that, in March 2023, Russian forces established fighting positions protected with sandbags on the roofs of several of the six reactor buildings at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” they said, before holding which “is the first indication that the reactor buildings are being integrated into tactical defense planning.”

Thus, they have stressed that “it is likely that Russia has built these positions because it is increasingly concerned about the possibility of a major Ukrainian offensive.” “The move probably raises the possibility that the security systems of the Zaporizhzhzhia nuclear power plant will be damaged in the event of fighting in the surrounding area,” they warned.

However, they have stressed that “direct and catastrophic damage to the reactors is unlikely in the most plausible scenarios involving infantry weapons, as the structures are very heavily reinforced,” the British Ministry of Defense has told through a series of messages on his official account on the social network Twitter.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly called for the establishment of a security zone around the plant to avoid possible risks arising from the fighting. The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, considers that Russia uses its control of these facilities as “blackmail”.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian troops

The Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest in Europe and has six reactors commissioned between 1984 and 1995. It has been controlled by Russian forces since March last year, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and has been the scene of constant offensive and coveted piece by both Kiev and Moscow.

In the midst of these threats, Zelensky assured this Thursday that the Xi Jinping regime could use its political influence over Vladimir Putin to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine and restore peace.

In a message posted on his official website, the Ukrainian leader referred to the phone call lasting more than an hour that he had with Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the first between the two leaders since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

“I spoke with the leader of China. It was a long and quite rational conversation. It is often said that such conversations open up opportunities. Now there is an opportunity to give a new impetus to our relations: Ukraine and China,” Zelensky said.

In his opinion, now is “the opportunity to use China’s political influence to restore the force of the principles and rules on which peace must be based.”

“Ukraine and China, as well as the vast majority of the world, are equally interested in the strength of nations’ sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

In his message, Zelensky rejected “threats with nuclear weapons and the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world” and said that Ukraine is interested, like China, in ensuring that the situation around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, now in Russian hands, is finally “fully secured.”

(With information from Europa Press)

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