Ukrainian troops train in Chernobyl exclusion zone as military belt after 2025 drone strike
Ukrainian soldiers have carried out defensive exercises inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone, turning the once-abandoned area into a fortified security belt along the Belarus border. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is now a military landscape where concerns about radiation, land mines and damaged containment structures shape both tactics and long-term plans.
Training amid abandoned villages
Soldiers from Ukraine’s National Guard recently trained among rotting homes and overgrown streets in the exclusion zone, practicing close-quarter drills while avoiding the most radioactive hotspots. Troops simulated urban defence, used live grenades in derelict buildings and rehearsed techniques for holding territory that will likely remain uninhabitable for generations.
Commanders emphasized security as the prevailing priority in the zone, saying the area must be defended against any further incursions or sabotage. The use of the ghost towns for training underscores how the site, emptied since the 1986 disaster, has been repurposed for military readiness after Moscow briefly occupied the zone in 2022.
Fortifying a northern frontier
The Chernobyl exclusion zone has been reconfigured as a fortified strip guarding approaches from the north toward Kyiv, with tank traps, razor wire and defensive emplacements visible across the landscape. Military engineers have avoided digging into contaminated soil; instead they build aboveground berms and bring in fresh sand to create protective positions.
These adaptations reflect both traditional frontline measures and unique constraints posed by radioactive contamination. Paths at forward positions are camouflaged with nets to reduce drone detection, while defensive layouts account for the presence of mines and the impossibility of normal groundworks in many areas.
Drone strike damages containment and delays repairs
In February 2025, a Shahed-class drone struck the New Safe Confinement — the steel shelter that covers the ruined reactor — punching a hole in the outer shell and igniting a fire that burned materials used to maintain the structure’s seal. Authorities reported no immediate release of radiation, but the attack set back years of efforts to secure the sarcophagus and isolate long-lived radioactive material.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has estimated repairs could cost roughly $500 million and, under current planning, would begin in 2028 and last several years. International donors have provided limited emergency funding so far, and United Nations and agency officials have urged that work start sooner to reduce risks from a deteriorating envelope over the reactor.
Access blocked for scientists and firefighters
Ongoing hostilities and widespread minefields in the exclusion zone have prevented routine scientific monitoring and compromised emergency response capacity. Teams that once sampled groundwater and tracked radiation patterns are unable to reach many wells for fear of mines, and foreign researchers have largely left the area because of safety concerns.
The inability to fight wildfires in some contaminated tracts is particularly alarming, since burning vegetation can re-distribute radioactive particles by smoke and ash. Local authorities and international experts warn that constrained access for technicians and responders raises the chance of accidents and complicates long-term environmental management.
Solar projects continue amid conflict
Despite the militarisation of much of the zone, solar energy projects have persisted and even expanded on a modest scale. Two solar plants are operating inside the exclusion zone and a third is under construction, using existing high-voltage lines once intended for the reactors to feed electricity into Ukraine’s grid.
Solar developers argue that dispersed photovoltaic arrays are relatively resilient to missiles and drones, and they can provide steady economic returns while requiring minimal maintenance in contaminated areas. A small number of panels damaged by shrapnel in the 2025 strike were quickly replaced, demonstrating the relative ease of repairing solar infrastructure compared with the complex work needed on nuclear confinement.
Soldiers adapt tactics to radioactive terrain
Fighting and defence in the Chernobyl zone have required modified military tactics to minimise radiation exposure. Troops avoid digging trenches or placing bunkers directly into the earth; instead they construct sand-filled berms and aboveground shelters resembling large mounds, a precaution designed to reduce contact with contaminated soil and dust.
Medical and safety protocols add another layer of complexity. Repair and maintenance tasks on highly radioactive structures may require tightly limited working hours for personnel and careful rotation to keep individual radiation doses within permissible limits. Those restrictions could significantly slow reconstruction and monitoring efforts if sustained over years.
For now, the Chernobyl exclusion zone remains a place where the legacy of the 1986 disaster and the realities of modern war collide, producing a security-first approach to land that once promised varied peacetime uses. International calls for urgent repairs to containment structures continue, even as military needs and mine clearance challenges complicate a long-term recovery path.