RUSSIA is struggling to build trenches around the Kursk nuclear plant as it fears Ukraine could capture its reactors.
Satellite photographs show new lines in the ground near the power station, while Vladimir Putin’s armed forces are unable to stop the courageous advance.
Ukrainian troops have already spent six days inside Russian territory, replacing flags, capturing prisoners of war and capturing territory.
Ukraine’s army is said to have managed to infiltrate a depth of up to 20 km into Russian territory, leaving Putin “scared and furious” with the continued attacks.
Russia is struggling to build fortifications around the atomic facility 100 km from the border with Ukraine.
Satellite images show the trenches south of Kurchatov, a town close to where the plant is located.
Videos posted on social media show diggers building trenches.
Military reinforcements are also being sent to the area to prevent what would be a major humiliation for Putin if the nuclear plant were captured.
The plant is a major energy supplier in the area and fighting around the plant would greatly increase the risk of a nuclear incident.
However, if Ukraine kept the site, it would prove to be a valuable bargaining chip.
Moscow has maintained the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
Russia claimed that “fragments and remains – presumably, pieces of intercepted rockets – were discovered at the plant, including in the radioactive waste processing area.”
In a statement, Russian nuclear authorities said: “Ukraine’s reckless actions are threatening not only the Russian nuclear facility, but also the entire global nuclear industry.
“At this moment there is a real danger of attacks and provocations by the Ukrainian army,” Rosatom said in a separate statement.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, also issued a stern warning to both sides.
They should show restraint as fighting intensifies inside Russia, he made clear.
Desperate Russian mothers are also appealing to Putin to honor his promise and not send their conscripted children to their deaths.
Fighting inside Russia exposed recruits as young as 18 to war – something the tyrant swore he would not do.
A mother has started a petition to try to persuade Putin to follow his own rules.
Videos released by Ukraine of Russian prisoners of war show soldiers claiming they had not completed training.
Under Russian rules, conscripts – even those in their early 20s – must not be sent to war during the one-year conscription period when they are not properly trained.
Russia claims to have halted the advance, but images of the advance show Ukrainian troops moving deeper into the country.
Tens of thousands of Russian civilians were evacuated from Kursk in buses, trains and cars before the Ukrainian army.
Moscow launched a massive “anti-terrorist operation” in three regions on Saturday, while the Defense Ministry announced a major deployment of its military capabilities to the front lines.
But Ukrainian troops continued, removing the Russian flags and replacing them with Ukrainian flags.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been pouring across Russian borders since the mini-invasion began on Tuesday, in the first invasion of Russia since World War II.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s men went on the offensive with a series of calculated attacks as they responded to Vlad’s army after it entered Ukraine in February 2022.
They are said to have killed hundreds of Russian soldiers, bombed a key airfield and wreaked havoc in Putin’s backyard.
Officials, including the president, have vowed to maintain the offensive as long as they can.
Speaking to his country on Saturday, Zelensky declared he would “restore justice” after the Russian invasion two years ago.
He said in an evening speech: “Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi about the front lines and our actions to push the war into the aggressor’s territory.
“Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”
Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi posted a defiant message on Telegram earlier today saying: “We continue the operation!”
It comes as Ukraine continues its assault on Kursk.
The latest attack saw the city of Kursk hit by a wave of kamikaze drones and Tochka-U tactical missiles overnight.
A residential building was seen on fire after one of the explosions, with images showing a car on fire and clouds of smoke rising into the sky.
Fire crews saw dozens of people injured after Russia shot down one of four missiles.
Other reports of regional power cuts and even a giant fireball explosion on a gas platform in the Black Sea have also plagued Putin’s army.
Putin faced further humiliation after images of his men surrendering to Ukraine were released in recent days.
Satellite images also showed a destroyed air base in Lipetsk after a Ukrainian drone blitz caused a chain reaction with the 700 glide bombs it housed.
Apocalyptic footage captured of the explosion shows a gigantic fireball erupting from the base – with residents desperately fleeing four nearby villages.
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