Haunting Photos of Ukraine’s Ghost Town Marking 35 Years Since Chernobyl

Priests, artists and other Ukrainians assembled in the deserted town of Pripyat to mark exactly three and a half decades since the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded.

by Simon Childs

London, GB

April 26, 2021, 11:44am

35 Years After Chernobyl, Ukrainians Lit Candles for the Dead

Ukrainians have commemorated those who died in the Chernobyl disaster on its 35th anniversary with an overnight vigil in the ghost-town of Pripyat.

Attendees lit candles, priests held a ceremony and artists performed in the central square of the town, which has been deserted since its 50,000 inhabitants were evacuated when a reactor at the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded in the early hours of the 26th of April 1986.

The explosion of the fourth reactor during a safety test caused the death of 30 power station operatives and firemen within a few days or weeks, including 28 deaths from radiation exposure. But thousands more are believed to have died from radiation poisoning following the disaster, in Ukraine, as well as neighbouring Belarus and Russia.

An orthodox priest lights candles on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early on the 26th of April, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

The exact number of deaths is the subject of debate as Soviet authorities kept information about the disaster hidden.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to visit the exclusion zone and address Ukrainians about the disaster. The exclusion zone is a 30 kilometre (20 mile) radius around the power plant that was evacuated after the disaster and has been deemed unfit for human habitation for thousands of years.

There was also a memorial ceremony to the Chernobyl firefighters in the city of Slavutych, built to accommodate evacuated workers following the disaster.

A woman lights a candle at the memorial in Slavutych. Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

People light candles on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on early April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

Orthodox priests hold a commemoration service on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early on April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

An abandoned building is seen in the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early on April 26, 2021, during an event to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

Artists perform on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early on April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

Lights are seen through the windows of an abandoned building in the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early on April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: by Genya SAVILOV / AFP

People stand next to lit candles on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on early April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

People gather on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early on April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

People light candles on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on early April 26, 2021, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP

Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Tagged:worldnewsChernobyl accidentUkrainenuclear powerVolodymyr Zelensky

Haunting Photos of Ukraine’s Ghost Town Marking 35 Years Since Chernobyl

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