I’ve been documenting the aftermath of the Chornobyl catastrophe for 3 decades, covering its post-apocalyptic world, the innocent victims, the damage in the fallout-region, disaster tourism and more.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I felt that my mission was unfinished. After nearly a year of negotiations, I finally was permitted to re- enter Chornobyl, now a highly restricted military Zone.

Since 2019, the reactor is enclosed under a huge arc, 100 meters high and 260 across, to allow deconstruction of the ailing shelter.

During their occupation of Chornobyl, Russian troops dug trenches and bunkers in the Red Forest, one of the most contaminated areas in the Zone. A lone dosimetrist checks the radiation in the area, now overtaken by vegetation. It is a risky job. The Zone is still littered with landmines.

Doctors, scientist, shopkeepers, and dosimetrists are among the estimated 2000 people who work in Chornobyl on shifts lasting up to 2 weeks. They are joined by an undisclosed, large number of military personnel.

Ignoring radiation levels, several hundred elderly people had illegally returned to their village homes inside the Exclusion Zone, preferring to die on their own contaminated soil instead of a broken heart in anonymous city suburbs, but their numbers are rapidly dwindling.

Many of the half million liquidators who participated in the gargantuan clean-up efforts following the catastrophe received high doses of radiation, resulting in exposure-induced diseases. To help the innocent and most needy, international Chornobyl charities now concentrate their funding efforts in the vicinity of the Zone in Ukraine.

On my last day, I was finally granted access to the depths of reactor #4 again. Clad in protective attire, armed with Geiger counters and dosimeters, and flanked by a team of five, I ventured into the belly of the beast. The space was dark and claustrophobic; again, we rushed through dimly lit tunnels strewn with wires, shredded metal, and other debris, and I struggled not to trip. We had to move fast. Nearly 4 decades after the accident, radiation levels are still so high that, despite my protective gear, in three locations I was only allowed to photograph for 2 minutes each – serving as a warning to human hubris, reminding us that not everything that is technologically possible is also wise.

As the sun sets, it bathes Chornobyl’s New Safe Confinement in golden light, standing as a sentinel over abandoned Pripyat. Once home to 50,000, the buildings now sit silently, their dark silhouettes stark against the twilight sky, graced by a gentle moonrise. Pripyat, Ukraine, 2023

On April 26, 1986, operators in this control room of reactor #4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant committed a fatal series of errors during a safety-test, triggering a reactor meltdown that resulted in the world's largest nuclear accident to date. Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, 2023

Chornobyl’s New Safe Confinement (NSC) falls quiet as the meaningful work halts; only a small team of workers lingers, while a lone dosimetrist takes daily radiation measurements. Dwarfing and encapsulating the sarcophagus built with the help of robots to contain Chornobyl’s reactor #4, the NSC provides an impressive container for the devastating radioactive material, but in the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine today stands stagnant for the near future. The NSC is a remarkable feat of engineering, designed to encase the damaged Reactor #4. Measuring 108 meters high, 162 meters long, and 257 meters wide, and pushed into place in 2016, the NSC is the world's largest moveable metal structure. Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, 2011

In the depths of Reactor #4 an engineer hurries through the labyrinthine of heavily contaminated hallways, keenly aware of the need to minimize his exposure to radiation. Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, 2023

The Turbine Hall of Unit 4 remains a haunting relic of the disaster. Housing the turbines and generators that converted thermal energy into electricity, it played a crucial role leading to the accident. Even 38 years later, radiation restricts entry to just two minutes. ChNPP, Ukraine, 2023

Nature reclaims homes in the Exclusion Zone. According to the IAEA, around 150,000 square kilometers of land were contaminated, leading to the evacuation of over 200,000 people. All 187 small communities remain abandoned, with more than 10,000 homes overtaken by nature. Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, 2005

The hospital in Chornobyl provides basic services, such as electrocardiography (as seen here), to an estimated 2400 shift workers in the Exclusion Zone. This includes workers at the ChNPP, scientists, technicians, cooks, support staff, and members of the national guard. Additionally, following the Russian attack on Ukraine, the hospital staff also tends to an undisclosed number of Ukrainian military personnel. Chornobyl, Ukraine, 2023

In the Red Forest near Chornobyl, dosimetrist Oleksandr S. measures radiation amidst Russian trenches. This area is highly contaminated and now littered with concealed landmines left by Russian troops. Radiation levels spiked during Russia's assault on Ukraine in February 2022, disturbing the topsoil that covered radioactive material. Russian troops dug trenches in the most contaminated areas, leaving behind hidden dangers. The Ukrainian forces are now working to neutralize these threats, complicated by tall grass. Near ChNPP, Ukraine, 2023

Today, a considerable portion of the clientele frequenting the five shops catering to the needs of temporary and shift workers in the town of Chornobyl comprises Ukrainian military personnel openly carrying weapons, as Chornobyl is designated as a military zone. Chornobyl, Ukraine, 2023

Known locally as Baba Hanna, this 91-year-old woman is among the few returnees who continue to live in one of the abandoned villages in the zone. She chooses to spend her final days on her own, albeit contaminated soil rather than face a lonely end in an anonymous city suburb. Kupovate, Ukraine, 2023

In Buda Radinska, a village in close vicinity of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, a Caritas representative delivers humanitarian aid to a local family of eight on behalf of Chernobyl Children International (CCI). CCI, a humanitarian organization established in 1991 in Ireland, is dedicated to supporting children and families affected by the Chornobyl nuclear disaster in Belarus and Ukraine. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, which resulted in CCI's exclusion from Belarus, the organization has formed an alliance with Caritas, a global network of Catholic charity organizations. Through their collaborative efforts, Caritas and CCI have been consistently providing vital food supplies to families with numerous children in the destitute town of Radynka, which is nearly encircled by the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Radynka, Ukraine, 2023

Viktor Lelyk, a 72-year-old liquidator, was among the first responders to the Chornobyl disaster, entering the reactor within an hour. He worked until August 1987 when he was hospitalized with facial burns and leg scars from radiation exposure, officially recorded at 250 rem. He underwent eight surgeries and remains on medication. About 700,000 liquidators from the Soviet Union helped contain the reactor and manage the aftermath, preventing a worse catastrophe and protecting Europe. Many faced high radiation exposure, resulting in cancers and other illnesses years later. Kyiv, Ukraine, 2023

Photographed in an unmarked room to protect her identity, Viktoriia M. (not her real name), a member of the National Guard at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, is overcome with emotion as she recounts the harrowing story of her husband. Also a member of the Ukrainian National Guard, he was detained by Russian troops during their occupation of Chornobyl two years ago. She is heartbroken because she has not yet received any sign that he is alive. Without knowing his whereabouts or the conditions he may be enduring, he is still one of the 10,000 believed to remain in Russian custody. Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, 2023

The tranquility of nature belies lingering threats: In February 2022, Russian forces entered Chornobyl, digging trenches and bunkers in the highly radioactive Red Forest and leaving landmines upon their departure. It remains uncertain if all have been removed. Near ChNPP, Ukraine, 2023

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Chornobyl - No End in Sight