NUCLEAR FRONTLINE
Scrambling Putin digging trenches around Kursk nuclear plant as Russia fears Ukraine invasion could capture reactors
Satellite photos and new video show the fortifications being built
RUSSIA is scrambling to build trenches around Kursk nuclear plant as it fears Ukraine could capture its reactors.
Satellite photos capture new lines in the earth near the power station as Vladimir Putin's armed forces fail to halt the brave advance.
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Ukraine's troops have now spent six days inside the Russian homeland replacing flags, taking POWs, and capturing territory.
They've penetrated 30km deep, Russia's defence ministry said, leaving Putin "scared and seething" over the ongoing attacks.
Russia is scrambling to build fortifications around the atomic facility which is 100km from the border with Ukraine.
Satellite images show the trenches to the south of Kurchatov, a town near where the power plant is located.
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Videos posted to social media show diggers building the trenches.
Military reinforcements are reportedly also being sent to the area to prevent what would be a major humiliation for Putin if the nuclear plant was captured.
The plant is a key supplier of energy in the area and fighting around the plant would massively increase the risk of a nuclear incident.
However, if Ukraine were to hold the site, it would prove to be a valuable negotiating chip.
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Moscow has held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine since the start of the war.
Russia has claimed “fragments and remnants - presumably, pieces of intercepted rockets - were discovered at the plant, including in the radioactive waste processing area”.
AFU soldiers plant a Ukrainian flag in the village of Guevo the Kursk region of Russia
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 the moment there is a real danger of strikes and provocations by the Ukrainian army," Rosatom said in a separate statement.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has also issued a stark warning to both sides.
They should show restraint as fighting intensifies inside Russia, he made clear.
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Desperate Russian mothers are also pleading with Putin to honour his promise and not send their conscript sons to their deaths.
Fighting inside Russia has exposed draftees as young as 18 to the war - which the tyrant vowed he would not do.
One mother has started a petition to try and persuade Putin to follow his own rules.
Videos released by Ukraine of Russian POWs have soldiers claiming they had not finished their training.
Under Russian rules, draftees - even those in their early 20s - should not be sent to war in their year-long conscription period when they are not properly trained.
Russia claims they have stalled the advance, but footage from the advance shows Ukrainian troops deeper and deeper in the country.
Tens of thousands of Russian civilians have been evacuated from Kursk in buses, trains and cars ahead of the Ukrainian army.
Moscow launched a massive "counter-terror operation" in three regions on Saturday as the defence ministry announced a major deployment of their military capabilities over to the frontlines.
But Ukrainian troops have pushed on, removing Russian flags and replacing them Ukrainian flags.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been storming through the Russian borders since the mini invasion kicked off on Tuesday in the first invasion of Russia since World War 2.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's men went on the offensive with a barrage of calculated strikes as they pushed back against Vlad's army after they steamed into Ukraine in February 2022.
They are said to have killed hundreds of Russian soldiers, blitzed a key airfield, and spread chaos in Putin's own backyard.
Officials, including the president, have vowed to keep up the offensive for as long as they can.
Speaking to his nation on Saturday, Zelensky declared he would "restore justice" after the Russian invasion two years ago.
He said in a nightly address: "Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor's territory.
"Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor."
Ukraine's army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi posted a defiant message on Telegram earlier today saying: "We continue the operation!"
It comes as Ukraine has continued its blitz of Kursk.
Their latest strike saw Kursk city pounded by a wave of kamikaze drones and Tochka-U tactical missiles overnight.
A residential building was seen up in flames following one of the blasts with footage showing a car on fire and plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.
Fire crews watched on as dozens were reportedly injured after Russia downed one of the four missiles.
Further reports of regional power outages and even a giant fireball blast on a gas rig in the Black Sea have also plagued Putin's army.
Putin has faced further humiliation after footage of his men surrendering to Ukraine in recent days was released.
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Satellite pictures also showed a drestroyed airbase in Lipetsk after a Ukrainian drone blitz caused a chain reaction with the 700 glide bombs it housed.
Apocalyptic footage caught of the explosion shows a gigantic fireball erupting from the base - with locals desperately fleeing from four nearby villages.
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