"Putin knew he would not be able to sustain high-intensity missiles strikes for a long time due to a dwindling arsenal of high-precision missiles," the think tank said.
Vorontsov explained the move by citing Moscow's concern about the possibility of the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Poland near the borders of Belarus and Russia.
He emphasized that in compliance with the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Russia had no intention for now of fitting nuclear warheads to Belarusian weapons systems or transferring nuclear warheads to the territory of Belarus.
He said the shelling of the city of Nikopol, which is located across the Dnieper from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, damaged a dozen residential buildings, several stores and a transportation facility.
"Working in very challenging conditions, operating staff at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are doing everything they can to bolster its fragile offsite power situation," Grossi said.