Russia is training drone operators on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP

On the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Russian school of UAV operators “Archangel”, which also produces FPV drones, conducts training. Russia is doing it there, because it is forbidden to return fire to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the one and a half kilometer zone around the ZNPP.

The launch sites were arranged near the sixth reactor of the station and near the personnel training center. The Russians also use the territory of the cooling pond of the ZNPP — from there, drones need to cover less than five kilometers to attack the Nikopol community in Dnipropetrovsk region. Now the Russians do not allow the IAEA to reach the perimeter of the cooling pool, although they used to allow it.

The Arkhangel UAV operator school is financed and supervised by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. Yevgeny Balytskyi, the head of the occupation administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, and the “volunteer” structures of Russia help in this.

The Russians began using the ZNPP area for training and “qualifications” of FPV operators in the summer of 2023.

In early April 2024, the IAEA stated that the Zaporizhzhia NPP was attacked at least three times by “unknown drones”. Russian propaganda blamed Ukraine (earlier for the appearance of the IAEA statement). The agency did not name the party who attacked. As a result of the impacts, the surveillance and communication equipment was damaged, the upper part of the dome of the sixth power unit was burnt – there was no significant damage

The ZNPP was occupied by the Russian military at the beginning of March 2022 and has been operating under their control since then. The station was completely disconnected from the power grid several times. From September 2022, the IAEA mission is stationed at the station. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from the station. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that while Russian soldiers are at the ZNPP, “the world remains on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.” Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at the ZNPP.