Russian trucks have seen 60m from Europe's largest nuclear reactor in new MoD satellite images:

Russian tanks can be seen just 60 meters from Europe's largest nuclear reactor in new satellite images released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

In early March, Russian ground forces seized Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southeastern Ukraine, and analysis of imagery from August 21 has now identified Russian military equipment and tanks located a short distance from reactor five. 

In a statement released about the alarming imagery, the MoD said: "Russian troops were probably attempting to conceal the vehicles by parking them under overhead pipes and gantries."

The MoD warned that Moscow "is probably prepared to exploit any Ukrainian military activity near ZNPP for propaganda purposes" and that the principal risks to the reactor remain disruption to cooling systems and damages to the backup power supply.

The government in Kyiv has alleged Russia is essentially holding the Soviet-era nuclear plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the facility, which is located in the city of Enerhodar.

"Anybody who understands nuclear safety issues has been trembling for the last six months," said Mycle Schneider, an independent policy consultant and coordinator of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report.