Russia is building defenses hundreds of miles away from its borders with Ukraine, fearing a counteroffensive so sweeping it could push into Russian territory, according to British intelligence.

The UK Ministry of Defence posted an update on Twitter Monday morning, noting the presence of trench networks "well inside internationally recognised Russian territory including in the Belgorod and Kursk regions."

The UK update noted that the defenses far from the front line might be more of a propaganda effort to harden the population's resolve by making them think the Ukrainian military could come close to their homes.

"Some works have likely been ordered by local commanders and civil leaders in attempts to promote the official narrative that Russia is 'threatened' by Ukraine and NATO," the update said.

The UK update noted that Russia has also been fortifying defensive lines inside occupied Ukrainian territory, much closer to the fighting.

Some of those, including the town of Medvedivka in Crimea, have been documented in photographs, including those analyzed in an April 3 article from The Washington Post.