Chernobyl’s exclusion zone is a beacon of biodiversity – but it faces new threats from Russia’s invasion

By Germán Orizaola, Profesor Titular de Zoología / Associate Professor of Zoology, Universidad de Oviedo

April 26 marks the 40th anniversary of the explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The accident caused the largest ever release of radioactive material into the environment, and at the time people predicted that the affected area would be rendered uninhabitable, devoid of life for thousands of years. But the reality is quite different

Four decades after the accident, Chernobyl has become one of Europe’s largest nature reserves. Covering an area of over 4,500 km², it is larger than almost any other national park on the continent. With next to no human…

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