Polesia, also called Polissia, Polesie, or Polesye, is a natural (geographic) and historical region in Eastern Europe within the East European Plain, including the Belarus–Ukraine border region and part of eastern Poland. This region should not be confused with parts of Russia also traditionally called "Polesie".
Gomel region, also known as Gomel oblast or Homyel voblasts, is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Gomel. The total area of the region is 40,400 square kilometres (15,600 sq mi). As of 2024, it had a population of 1,338,617.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union.
Bellesrad (Беллесрад) is a short name for the State Institution for Radiation Monitoring and Radiation Safety of the Republic of Belarus. It is subordinated to the State Forestry Committee of the Council of Ministers of Republic of Belarus. It was created to address the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on Belarus.
The Chernobyl disaster of 26 April 1986 triggered the release of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere in the form of both particulate and gaseous radioisotopes. As of 2024, it remains the world's largest known release of radioactivity into the natural environment.
An exclusion zone is a territorial division established for various, case-specific purposes.
Khoiniki is a town in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Khoiniki District. As of 2024, it has a population of 13,167.
Narowlya is a town in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Narowlya District. As of 2024, it has a population of 8,371.
Brahin District or Bragin District is a district (raion) of Gomel Region in Belarus. Its administrative seat is the town of Brahin. As of 2024, it has a population of 11,726.
Khoiniki District or Chojniki District is a district (raion) of Gomel Region in Belarus. Its administrative center is the town of Khoiniki. As of 2024, it has a population of 18,435.
Narowlya District or Naroŭlia District is a district (raion) of Gomel Region in Belarus. Its administrative center is the town of Narowlya. As of 2024, it has a population of 10,417.
The Chernobyl disaster, considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine. From 1986 onward, the total death toll of the disaster has lacked consensus; as peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet and other sources have noted, it remains contested. There is consensus that a total of approximately 30 people died from immediate blast trauma and acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in the seconds to months after the disaster respectively, with 60 in total in the decades since, inclusive of later radiation induced cancer. However, there is considerable debate concerning the accurate number of projected deaths that have yet to occur due to the disaster's long-term health effects; long-term death estimates range from up to 4,000 for the most exposed people of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, to 16,000 cases in total for all those exposed on the entire continent of Europe, with figures as high as 60,000 when including the relatively minor effects around the globe. Such numbers are based on the heavily contested linear no-threshold model.
The Belarusian-Ukrainian border is the state border between Belarus and Ukraine with a length of about 1,084 km (674 mi). It starts from the triple junction with Poland to the west and stretches to the triple junction with Russia to the east. The tripoint border at the triple border junction of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine is marked in the form of a monument, while at the other border junction there is a river, the Western Bug that coincides with the border of Poland.
The protected areas of Belarus are governed by the 1994 law "About the Protected Nature Areas". and its amendments.
Vilcha is an abandoned settlement and former urban-type settlement in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, part of Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.
The Chernihiv–Ovruch railway is a partially electrified and partially operational single track railway line that stretches between the town of Ovruch and the city of Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, passing through southern Belarus and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The line is owned by Ukrzaliznytsia alone, with railway stations located in Belarus being leased from the government of Belarus. A portion of the line between railway stations Vilcha and Semykhody has not been in service since the Chernobyl disaster, on 26 April 1986.
Aravichy is an abandoned village in Khoiniki District, Gomel Region, Belarus.
Dzernavichy or Dernovichi is an abandoned village in Narowlya District, Gomel Region, Belarus.
The Chernobyl disaster remains the major and most detrimental nuclear catastrophe which completely altered the radioactive background of the Northern Hemisphere. It happened in April 1986 on the territory of the former Soviet Union. The catastrophe led to the increase of radiation in nearly one million times in some parts of Europe and North America compared to the pre-disaster state. Air, water, soils, vegetation and animals were contaminated to a varying degree. Apart from Ukraine and Belarus as the worst hit areas, adversely affected countries included Russia, Austria, Finland and Sweden. The full impact on the aquatic systems, including primarily adjacent valleys of Pripyat river and Dnieper river, are still unexplored.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was captured on 24 February 2022, the first day of the invasion, by the Russian Armed Forces, who entered Ukrainian territory from neighbouring Belarus and seized the entire area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant by the end of that day. On 7 March, it was reported that around 300 people were trapped and had been unable to leave the power plant since its capture. On 31 March, it was reported that most of the Russian troops occupying the area had withdrawn, as the Russian military abandoned the Kyiv offensive to focus on operations in Eastern Ukraine.
