Ukraine waited for a Russian fuel convoy carrying roughly 1,000 tons of diesel toward the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — then launched a coordinated FPV drone ambush just outside the facility’s security perimeter.
At 05:15, a Ukrainian Leleka-100 reconnaissance UAV tracked the convoy as ten FPV attack drones moved into position. Ukrainian operators had reportedly studied the convoy’s route, speed, and expected arrival time, waiting for the moment when the fuel tankers would slow down and bunch together near the external security checkpoint.
But the convoy was not undefended.
BTR-82A armored vehicles opened fire with 30 mm autocannons and machine guns, while an R-330Zh Zhitel electronic-warfare system attempted to disrupt communications and satellite navigation. Several FPVs were destroyed, yet others continued their approach using direct optical control and inertial navigation.
The first attack wave ignited a fuel tanker and disrupted the convoy’s defensive formation. Minutes later, four remaining FPVs entered through the growing wall of smoke as Russian troops responded with AK-74 rifles, Saiga-12 shotguns, and BTR-82A fire.
By the end of the engagement, multiple tankers were burning, the convoy had broken apart, and the security inspection area outside the nuclear plant had been effectively paralyzed.
This video breaks down the operation step by step — from reconnaissance and electronic warfare to the final FPV attack and the Russian attempt to protect the fuel convoy.
