Russia-Ukraine
War
Preparation for a Longer War
Russia’s Economy
‘Donnyland’ Proposal
E.U. Loan to Ukraine
Photos
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
40 Years After the Meltdown, War Layers Another Disaster on Chernobyl
Ideas have been floated for how the contaminated zone could bring economic benefits to Ukraine. But for the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt.
A Ukrainian soldier taking part in a training exercise in the Chernobyl exclusion zone this month.
40 Years After the Meltdown, War Layers Another Disaster on Chernobyl
Ideas have been floated for how the contaminated zone could bring economic benefits to Ukraine. But for the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt.
A Ukrainian soldier taking part in a training exercise in the Chernobyl exclusion zone this month.
Credit...
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Listen
· 9:17 min
Share full article
By
Andrew E. Kramer
and
Evelina Riabenko
Photographs by
Brendan Hoffman
Reporting from the Chernobyl exclusion zone
April 26, 2026
Vines twirl through the broken windows of long-abandoned homes, where the detritus of lives interrupted by disaster are still scattered about: children’s shoes, dishes, coats hanging on pegs, all covered in lichen and dust.
The ghost towns of the Chernobyl exclusion zone in northern Ukraine emptied of people after the catastrophic explosion and meltdown at the nuclear power plant there 40 years ago, on April 26, 1986. High levels of radiation mean humans may never live in them again.
But these towns served another purpose for Ukrainian soldiers who recently trained amid the ruins. The troops practiced defending the irradiated land against a repeat Russian attack, taking precautions to avoid the most radioactive areas. In February 2022, Moscow’s forces entered the zone on the first day of the full-scale invasion, and occupied it for five weeks.
During the exercise, soldiers crouched beside waterlogged, mold-covered walls, aiming their rifles. Others threw live grenades into homes, chipping walls already crumbling from dry rot. Their presence highlighted a reality in the Chernobyl zone: For the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt along the border with Belarus, a Russian ally.
Image
The soldiers’ presence highlighted a reality in the Chernobyl zone: For the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt.
Image
Ukraine’s military must be prepared for any repeat incursion into the Chernobyl zone, after Russian troops occupied it for five weeks in 2022.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and
log into
your Times account, or
subscribe
for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber?
Log in
.
Want all of The Times?
Subscribe
.
Related Content
Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
댓글
0