Chornobyl Zone Being Prepared for Possible Repeated Russian Offensive - Der Spiegel
Ukrainian military is reinforcing the defense of the Chornobyl zone against a possible repeated offensive by Russian forces from the territory of Belarus. The region is building fortifications, setting up checkpoints, and installing protective nets against drones.
According to Der Spiegel, checkpoints are now located every few kilometers. Construction equipment digs trenches and pits, and near road intersections, Ukrainian soldiers erect protected passages and shelters using timber from neighboring forests.
On some road sections, tall metal poles are being installed, between which plastic nets are stretched. They are intended to intercept FPV drones – such a solution is already used in the front-line areas of Donbas.
The distance from the Chornobyl zone to the Belarusian border is about 15 kilometers. If the territory of Belarus is again used for an offensive, the area will immediately be within the range of attack drones.
An additional element of defense became the destruction of a railway bridge on the route previously used by Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers commuting from Slavutych. This railway passed through Belarus, so Ukraine blew up the bridge to prevent Russian troops from using it to transfer equipment and personnel.
Due to the route closure, plant workers now live in temporary dormitories set up in former administrative buildings and return home approximately once every two weeks.
Russian troops already seized Chornobyl on the first day of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, advancing from the territory of Belarus. After the failed offensive on Kyiv, the occupiers left the zone, which has since been under the control of the Ukrainian military. Civilian access there is significantly restricted.
The preparations are taking place against the backdrop of reports about the buildup of Belarusian troops near the southern border. Ukrainian media previously wrote about the formation of a new airborne brigade in this area. Meanwhile, Belarus has not officially entered the war with its own troops but provided territory to Russia for invasion and airstrikes.
A separate problem remains the condition of the new safe confinement over the destroyed fourth reactor unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. In February 2025, a Russian drone pierced the outer structure and caused smoldering that damaged the inner membrane.
The hole in the metal shell has already been sealed, but the protective structure no longer functions as designed. The confinement, costing over 2 billion euros and built from 36 thousand tons of steel, was supposed to isolate radioactive materials for at least a hundred years.
Based on: Der Spiegel
