Visit Chernobyl, why not?

On April 26, 1986, reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, about 180km from Kyiv, exploded, causing one of the most catastrophic nuclear accidents in history. Thirty power plant employees and firefighters died within days or weeks of the accident, and 28 of them also suffered from acute radiation syndrome.

The number of deaths from long-term radiation exposure remains highly debated. While the United Nations predicted 9,000 deaths from related cancers in 2005, Greenpeace later estimated as many as 200,000 deaths from health problems stemming from the disaster. For more than two decades, authorities have had to isolate the area around the reactor, turning it into a restricted zone, including the city of Pripyat, once home to 50,000 people.

On Wednesday (July 10), President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to develop Chernobyl into an official tourist destination. He wants to improve Ukraine's reputation and capitalize on the country's most famous disaster by establishing better walking paths, waterways, checkpoints, and mobile phone coverage within the exclusion zone.

President Zelensky also shared: "Chernobyl used to be a ghost, a negative part of Ukraine. It's time to change that. We will create a green corridor for tourists. Chernobyl is a unique place on this planet, where nature has been reborn after a huge man-made disaster. Now is the time for us to show the world, from scientists, ecologists, historians to tourists, the uniqueness of this place."

Restrictions on filming and photography will also be lifted, making Chernobyl a "hot" Instagram spot. In addition, many people have recently flocked to the "ghost city" of Pripyat to see Chernobyl firsthand; this is thanks to the success of the hit HBO series of the same name.

Hai Anh