Ukraine eyes UNESCO status for abandoned Chernobyl wasteland
Children's beds are seen in a kindergarten near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine, April 12. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
The abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. A mothballed nuclear power station surrounded by wasteland, rubble and abandoned buildings is not what most people associate with a UNESCO World Heritage site. But that is exactly...more
Hoping that such an assignation could mean more funding and more tourists, the government has begun a process that could eventually allow it to apply to the United Nations' cultural, scientific and education body for protection. REUTERS/Gleb...more
A Soviet made over-the-horizon (OTH) radar system "Duga" near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An elk on an empty road in the Chernobyl zone. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
On April 26, 1986 a reactor at the plant, located some 108 km (67 miles) north of the capital Kyiv, exploded during a botched safety test. The result was the world's worst nuclear accident that sent clouds of radiation across much of Europe and...more
An interior view of a house in the abandoned village of Zalissya, near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A house is seen in the abandoned village of Poliske near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Thousands later succumbed to radiation-related illnesses such as cancer, although the total death toll and long-term health effects remain a subject of...more
"We believe that putting Chernobyl on the UNESCO heritage list is a first and important step towards having this great place as a unique destination of interest for the whole of mankind," said Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko. ...more
"The importance of the Chernobyl zone lays far beyond Ukraine's borders ... It is not only about commemoration, but also history and people's rights," says Tkachenko. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Before sending an application to the UN, locations seeking UNESCO protection had to be included on a national cultural and historic heritage list, according to the minister. Tkachenko said his ministry recently decided to include a huge military...more
Tkachenko said he hoped that Chernobyl, which had already become a popular site for adventure tourists before the coronavirus pandemic prevented most international travel, would bounce back and begin to lure visitors again. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
The coat of arms of the Soviet Union on the roof of a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Most of the area around the abandoned nuclear plant is a wilderness of empty buildings, scrubland and rubble. All of the buildings in Pripyat, a ghost town that was once home to 50,000 people mostly working at the plant, are in need of repair. ...more
The reactor hall of the stopped third bloc at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A calendar on the wall of a house in the abandoned village of Zalissya. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A vintage doll, which was placed by a visitor, is seen on a bed at a kindergarten in the abandoned city of Pripyat. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Remains of burnt houses in the abandoned village of Poliske in the Chernobyl zone. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An elk is seen within a burnt forest in the Chernobyl zone. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
The control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A house in the abandoned village of Zalissya. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An interior view of a house in the abandoned village of Zalissya. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A Przewalski's horse is seen in a burnt forest in the Chernobyl zone, Ukraine April 12, 2021. Picture taken April 12, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Next Slideshows
Extinction Rebellion dumps cow manure at White House on Earth Day
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion dump wheelbarrows of cow manure at the White House entrance.
Apr 22 2021India's round-the-clock cremations show staggering COVID death toll
As India reports a record 2,104 coronavirus deaths in a day, crematoriums are overwhelmed with bodies, burning funeral pyres in the parking lot and reporting...
Apr 22 2021Family and friends mourn Daunte Wright at his viewing
Mourners gathered at a Minneapolis church to view the body of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man whose fatal shooting by a police officer in a nearby...
Apr 22 2021India running out of oxygen as COVID cases set new pandemic record
India recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 new COVID-19 infections, as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of...
Apr 22 2021MORE IN PICTURES
Deadly shooting at Texas elementary school
A teenage gunman opened fire at an elementary school in South Texas, killing 18 children and three adults before the suspect was also killed, officials said, in the latest spasm of mass gun violence sweeping the United States.
NATO military exercises in Europe take on new urgency
Forces from multiple NATO members are participating in long-planned exercises throughout Europe as Russia's invasion of Ukraine lends new urgency to the military alliance.
In pictures: Three months of war in Ukraine
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Images from three months of fighting in Ukraine after Russia launched an all-out invasion by land, air and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.
Britain gears up for Queen's Platinum Jubilee
Early next month Britain will honour the queen's Platinum Jubilee with four days of pageantry and celebration.
Migrants in Mexico despair after U.S. extends pandemic asylum limits
Migrants across northern Mexico voiced frustration and desperation after the U.S. government failed to lift a pandemic-era policy that has largely prevented them from seeking asylum in the United States for over two years.
Red carpet style at Cannes
Fashion highlights from the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
Life inside Shanghai's prolonged lockdown
With Shanghai not reporting infections outside of quarantine zones for much of the past week, some authorities allowed more people to leave their homes for brief periods.
Best of Cannes Film Festival
Highlights from the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
Class of 2022: Graduates celebrate commencement
After many were forced to school remotely during the pandemic, seniors celebrate their graduation.