Inside Chornobyl exclusion zone during war | Dare to Ukraine

In the sixth episode of Dare to Ukraine, we gain rare access to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, known globally as the site of the catastrophic 1986 nuclear disaster and one of the most radioactive places on Earth.

While the area remains closed to visitors due to Russia’s war, join host Masha Lavrova as she ventures into Chornobyl’s haunting history: from the eerie ghost city of Prypiat and the towering Duga Radar Station to firsthand accounts from those who survived the 1986 disaster and endured the 2022 Russian occupation, this episode sheds light on the resilience of a place forever marked by its past, yet still fighting for its future.

00:00 - Introduction to Chornobyl
04:03 - Ghost city of Prypiat
06:21 - Interview with a liquidator
09:20 - Abandoned preschool
11:22 - The price of the Chornobyl disaster
13:22 - Radiation levels near reactor №4
14:32 - Russian occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant
21:15 - A night in Chornobyl
24:40 - What is Duga Radar Station?
26:35 - Cultural influence: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series, HBO series
27:15 - Illegal visitors or the real-life stalkers
29:24 - Visiting long-time residents of the exclusion zone
33:33- Conclusion and next steps

Ep. 1: Lviv, the ultimate first stop to experience Ukraine (   • Dare to Ukraine | Lviv, the ultimate ...  )
Ep. 2: Escaping war in the Carpathian Mountains (   • Dare to Ukraine | Escaping war in the...  )
Ep. 3: Odesa: Summer by the sea during war (   • Dare to Ukraine | Odesa: Summer by th...  )
Ep. 4 Kyiv, the heart of country at war (   • Dare to Ukraine | Kyiv, the heart of ...  )
Ep. 5: Kharkiv: Living and surviving near the Russian border (   • Dare to Ukraine | Kharkiv: Living and...  )

Team:
Executive producer & story editor: Toma Istomina
Director: Tetiana Koronkova
Host & scriptwriter: Masha Lavrova
Line producer: Valeriia Snopkova
Camera persons: Alexander Zabolotnyi, Anton Somin.
Video editor: Vladyslav Samusenko
Motion designer: Dana Loboda
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People in this episode:
Nataliia Tereshchenko - Instagram : @lady.adventure_
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Additional footage:
Getty Images
Wikimedia Commons
The Central State CinePhotoPhono Archives of Ukraine named after H. Pshenychny
Drone footage - Anton Yukhymenko