The Latest Breaking News from Chernobyl

After Chernobyl, scientists planted sunflowers to absorb radioactive isotopes

After the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters, scientists explored using sunflowers for radioactive cleanup. Sunflowers demonstrated effectiveness in absorbing cesium and strontium, particularly from contaminated water. However, absorbing radionuclides from soil proved to be more challenging due to chemical interactions. The approach demonstrated potential in capturing radioactive material, yet it did…

The Times of India · Oct 1

40 years after Chernobyl, Italy greenlights a return to nuclear energy

Italy’s Senate has given final approval to legislation paving the way for a return to nuclear power

The Independent UK · Sep 23

In 1998, 31 Przewalski’s horses entered Chernobyl and reached 137 by 2018

After the Chernobyl disaster, an abandoned radioactive landscape became an unlikely refuge for Przewalski’s horses, a species once lost from the wild. Introduced in 1998–99, the population suffered transport deaths and poaching but continued breeding. By 2018, 137 horses were documented in Ukraine, with others established across the Belarusian border.

The Times of India · Sep 15

Will it take a ‘Chornobyl-scale disaster’ for us to regulate AI?

Unsafe AI systems are leading to cyber weapons of mass destruction writes Stuart Russell, a computer scientist known for his contributions to AI

The Guardian - US · Jun 17

European leaders back Zelensky's call for direct Russia talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky won support from the leaders of Britain, France and Germany on Sunday for direct ceasefire talks with Russia, as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled. The appeal came as Russian strikes reportedly damaged a nuclear fuel storage facility near the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

France 24 · Jun 7

Drone strike damages nuclear storage site near Chernobyl: Kyiv

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been informed of the incident and that its team would inspect the site and assess the damage. The facility, located about 14.5 km from the Chernobyl plant, stores spent nuclear fuel from Ukraine's operating nuclear power stations. The strike caused significant…

The Economic Times · Jun 7

Ukraine will not ‘silently die’, vows Zelensky ahead of talks at No 10

The meeting comes after a Russian drone strike damaged a storage centre for spent nuclear fuel near Chernobyl.

Evening Standard · Jun 7

Chernobyl fuel facility hit: Nuclear fears resurface, Kyiv says Russian attack ‘deliberate'

A Russian drone struck a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Ukraine's Chornobyl exclusion zone, officials reported. While authorities confirmed radiation levels remained normal, President Zelenskyy condemned the attack as a deliberate act of recklessness targeting critical infrastructure. This incident adds to a pattern of Russian actions endangering nuclear safety,…

The Times of India · Jun 7

Chernobyl exclusion zone now has more wildlife than Ukraine’s nature reserves, study finds

Radioactive landscape too dangerous for humans now boasts some of the world’s wildest horses, wolves, and Eurasian lynx

The Independent UK · May 20

40 years later, Russia is still silencing the voices of Chernobyl

In June 2018 I had the opportunity to visit Minsk, the capital of Belarus. In a large bookshop in the city centre – beneath the inquisitorial gaze of the ever-present portraits of the dictator Alexander Lukashenko – I asked the bookseller for one of the volumes of Svetlana Alexievich’s collected…

The Conversation · Apr 29