Chernobyl During The War - Rare Access - No Tourists -

The #Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been off limits to tourists and nearly all visitors since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022. It was briefly occupied by Russia until 29th March, when their forces withdrew, knowing that their assault on Kyiv had failed.
As many as 120,000 tourists have visited Chernobyl in 1 year, including 75,000 in 2021, but the war and the invasion ended that overnight. Hundreds lost jobs and a whole industry collapsed, including my brother Max, who used to be a private tour guide.
Since the war started we had been keen to get back into the exclusion zone and see what effect the occupation had. We know Russian troops looted and destroyed millions worth of equipment and held workers hostage, but more importantly, they dug up soil that was still heavily radioactive and lived in it and moved it around on vehicles. We wanted to see what had changed.
It is next to impossible to get into the area currently, but Max through his contacts and that of his old company with the Ministry, managed to get permission for 6 of us to visit. We had my mate Neil from England along and a Canadian film maker, Jordan Campbell, a Ukrainian cinematographer and Olga a Ukrainian journalist and national news reader. Olga's father was a 'liquidator' at Chernobyl during the clean up and was one of those who shoveled graphite off the reactor building roofs. Jordan was documenting her story about her father as part of his film about the war in Ukraine called 'Ukraine Under Fire'. It is yet to be released but a trailer is available at • UKRAINE UNDER FIRE (20...
Chernobyl town itself is now just an outpost for workers from the plant and military, only about 10% of the old town is re-occupied, the rest lies empty and ghostly, buried in the forest. Pripyat town itself, normally alive with tourists and vehicles was completely empty, even the inner checkpost was not manned and the 6 of us were completely alone in one of the most popular tourist spots on the planet. The forest works quickly to reclaim, even more so with the lack of activity, it was far more overgrown than on my visit just before the war started. The iconic Ferris wheel still stands, but there is not a sound, was just us.
There were no visible signs of anything the Russians had done and we were unable to find their trenches despite asking many of the soldiers stationed all around Chernobyl now. The main difference are the fortifications and additional road blocks, as the plant and exclusion zone are now heavily fortified. We still had to pass through multiple check points on entry, had to get special permission to film inside the 10km zone and had to hand in cameras on departure for checking by the intelligence services. The exiting dosimeter station was also still in use, with a hand held check of the vehicle and then all of us walking through the full body scanners.
My message from this visit is we need to ensure Chernobyl does not become a common occurrence in Europe or the globe, should Russia use nuclear weapons or do something stupid with other plants like Zaporizhzhia. Nuclear accidents and nuclear war have no winners and the world needs to understand Ukraine is not only fighting to regain its homeland and freedom, but fighting an aggressor for the rest of the world's safety and security. We need to keep supporting Ukraine and do more to stop this war now.
I am proud to be an official volunteer in Ukraine and continue to support Ukraine with my mates Max and Neil, and special groups of likeminded souls all doing their part. One very special group, which I am now proud to be part of and represent, is #Project Konstantin, a humanitarian aid and frontline medevac team. The whole group are legends as well, a collective of big hearted souls from around the world, with one common aim, support Ukraine until victory day comes! See the link below:
projectkonstan...
Anybody who wishes to help by donating can use the existing links below. I make regular trips into Ukraine to deliver aid and people are welcome to accompany me. You can use the channel email [e-mail] to get in touch. Genuine people only thanks. I can also organise for aid to get into the country via #Romania and provide logistical support in Ukraine via our interconnected volunteer network.
PATREON: / bitsofeurope
DONORBOX: donorbox.org/s...
PAYPAL: PayPal.Me/dylanhelpingukraine or
@dylanhelpingukraine or
[e-mail]
BUYMEACOFFEE: www.buymeacoff...
Stay safe, multa sanatate.
Keep supporting Ukraine guys. Slava Ukraini!!