Ukraine wants to apply to have the Chernobyl nuclear plant and its surrounding areas listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site alongside some of the world’s most culturally significant places.
In an announcement timed to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the disaster today, Ukraine hopes that the assignment will “draw funding and more tourists” to the “mothballed nuclear power station surrounded by wasteland, rubble and abandoned buildings”, The Guardian reports.
“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 Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Ukrainian culture minister.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“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,” he said.
Thirty-one plant workers and firemen died in the immediate aftermath of the 1986 disaster, mostly from acute radiation sickness. The explosion of the fourth reactor also spread contaminated material across much of western Europe, with thousands more dying of radiation-related illnesses such as cancer in the following years.
“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,” The Guardian says, with Tkachenko saying that the popularity of the HBO show Chernobyl may prompt an increase in the number of tourists wanting to visit the site.
“Vegetation and decay has taken over much of the surrounding area,” Sky News reports. The plant is now “out of service and all four of its reactors are due to be dismantled by 2064”.
Bohdan Borukhovskyi, Ukraine’s deputy environment minister, told the broadcaster: “This is a place of tragedy and memory, but it is also a place where you can see how a person can overcome the consequences of a global catastrophe.
“This is an area of meditation and reflection, an area where you can see the impact of human error, but you can also see the human heroism that corrects it.”
Other UNESCO World Heritage sites include the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Great Barrier Reef and the Acropolis in Athens.
-
Cider farms to visit this autumnThe Week Recommends With harvest season fast approaching, spend an afternoon at one of these idyllic orchards
-
Endangered shark meat is being mislabeled and sold in the USUnder the radar It could cause both health and ecological problems
-
Crossword: September 15, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peaceSpeed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
What will security guarantees for Ukraine look like?Today's Big Question From boots on the ground to economic sanctions, here are the measures that might stop Russia taking another bite out of Ukraine
-
Russia tries Ukraine land grab before Trump summitSpeed Read The incursion may be part of Putin's efforts to boost his bargaining position
-
Volodymyr Zelenskyy: flirting with authoritarianism?Talking Point Ukraine's president is facing first major domestic unrest since the Russian invasion, over plans to water down the country's anti-corruption agencies
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Why are Ukraine's anti-corruption issues roaring back into focus now?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION A new bill curbing anti-corruption bodies prompted Ukraine's first mass protests against President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in years. Where are the roots of this domestic unrest, and what could it mean for Ukraine's future?
