Chornobyl exclusion zone

Russian drone hits Chornobyl spent fuel site, raising fresh nuclear safety fears

Russian forces struck a building at the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, though radiation levels remained within normal limits and no casualties were reported, Energoatom said on June 7.

7 June, 12:55 PM

Chornobyl emergency workers rescue moose calf caught in anti-drone net – photo

Emergency workers in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone rescued a moose calf caught in anti-drone netting, Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve wrote on May 10.

11 May, 10:46 AM

Chornobyl forest fire burns 2,700 acres as winds push flames wider

A major forest fire broke out in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone on May 8, spreading across more than 1,100 hectares, or about 2,700 acres, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported.

8 May, 12:17 PM

Chornobyl’s silence deepens as war, radiation and time close in on Prypiat’s ruins

After the 1986 disaster, Soviet authorities sealed off Chornobyl and Prypiat from outside visitors. Organized tourism began in the early 21st century and peaked in 2019–2020, after HBO’s hit miniseries drew global attention to the site. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, all trips to the Zone have been banned. The danger now comes not only from radiation, but also from the aftermath of war. NV journalist Serhii Okunev spent several days at the Zone’s main sites, went beneath the sarcophagus at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and saw Prypiat — a city emptied of people.

27 April, 12:28 PM

New documentary explores Chornobyl’s nature recovery 40 years after disaster

Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne has produced a documentary film, Bastion of the Exclusion Zone, marking the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. The film explores dramatic changes in nature four decades after the catastrophe and is set to air and stream in April.

7 April, 09:00 PM

Chornobyl shelter to be repaired in 2026, official says

Primary repairs to the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at Ukraine’s Chornobyl nuclear power plant, damaged by a Russian drone in February, are scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, Serhii Kondratenko, deputy technical director for infrastructure at the shutdown plant, told Deutsche Welle on Dec. 9.

10 December 2025, 04:22 AM

Blue-coated dogs discovered in radioactive Chernobyl zone

Volunteers from the Dogs of Chernobyl organization have reported spotting several dogs with striking blue fur for the first time inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the Daily Mail reported on Oct. 27.

28 October 2025, 11:49 AM

Chornobyl defenders return home in POW swap

Ukraine and Russia concluded another prisoner-of-war exchange on Oct. 2, which saw 185 Ukrainian servicemembers returning home, some of whom were captured as far back as 2022.

3 October 2025, 10:33 PM

French foreign minister visits Chornobyl, talks Ukraine cooperation

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, accompanied by Ukraine’s Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk, visited the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, according to a Telegram post by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy on July 21.

22 July 2025, 02:20 PM

Chornobyl may host small modular reactors

Land plots in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone may be allocated for small modular reactors, the head of Ukraine’s Exclusion Zone agency told Interfax-Ukraine on May 19.

19 May 2025, 04:19 PM

Chornobyl exclusion zone