Trenches, Checkpoints, Anti-Drone Nets—Ukraine Prepares Chornobyl for Another Russian Attack

Ukraine is reinforcing the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone with trenches, checkpoints, firing positions, and anti-drone barriers as its military prepares for the possibility of another Russian advance through the area from the north.

According to Der Spiegel on August 10, Ukrainian forces have expanded defensive preparations across the exclusion zone, which Russian troops occupied during the opening weeks of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Checkpoints now restrict movement every several kilometers, while construction crews are digging trenches and defensive positions in the sandy terrain, the German outlet reported. Soil removed during the work is being used to create embankments near road junctions, while timber from surrounding forests is being used to reinforce covered defensive positions.

Ukraine is also installing anti-drone protection along some roads. According to Der Spiegel, crews are placing tall metal poles beside highways and stretching plastic netting between them in an effort to stop or disrupt low-flying drones.

Similar barriers have been increasingly used near frontline areas to reduce the effectiveness of FPV drones operating against vehicles and logistics routes.

The preparations reflect the Chornobyl zone’s proximity to Belarus. Der Spiegel reported that the Belarusian border lies roughly 15 kilometers from parts of the area, meaning that any major change in the military situation could place positions inside the zone within range of FPV drones.

Ukrainian forces are also clearing sections of forest to improve visibility and access for military vehicles, while infrastructure that could potentially support another advance from Belarus has been restricted.

Before the full-scale invasion, workers at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant regularly traveled by rail from the nearby city of Slavutych, with the route briefly passing through Belarusian territory. Ukraine later destroyed a railway bridge on the route to prevent it from being used for the movement of Russian forces in another potential northern offensive, according to Der Spiegel.

Russian troops seized the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on February 24, 2022, after entering Ukraine from Belarus. They remained in the exclusion zone until withdrawing from northern Ukraine several weeks later.

The German outlet also examined the condition of the New Safe Confinement structure covering the destroyed fourth reactor at the Chornobyl plant.

The steel shelter, installed in 2016 and designed to contain radioactive material for around a century, was damaged in a Russian drone strike in February 2025. The impact caused a prolonged fire inside sections of the structure and damaged an internal membrane, affecting its intended containment function.

The visible damage to the outer shell has since been repaired, Der Spiegel reported, although sections of replacement metal remain distinguishable from the original surface.

The Chornobyl area remains under Ukrainian control, but the new fortifications indicate that the northern approach toward Kyiv continues to be treated as a potential military axis more than four years after Russian forces first used the region during their failed advance on the Ukrainian capital.

Earlier, the IAEA reported increased drone activity near Ukrainian nuclear facilities, with more than 160 UAVs recorded around the South Ukraine, Chornobyl, and Rivne nuclear power plants on May 13–14. The agency said there was no direct impact on nuclear safety but called for maximum restraint around the sites.

Protect Ukrainian Skies

Subscribe to Sky Defense