AFP Journalists Access Chernobyl Reactor Building Ahead of 40th Anniversary of 1986 Disaster

AFP journalists Genya Savilov and Maryke Vermaak entered the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine as part of their reporting on the 40th anniversary of the 1986 accident that caused a huge meltdown there. The journalists ventured into the heart of the facility, which has stood as a sealed disaster zone since the meltdown 40 years ago.

@AFP reported that the visit occurred while the zone faces renewed pressure from conflict.

In February 2025 a Russian drone strike hit the site and left a hole in the outer of two radiation shields covering the remnants of the Chernobyl plant. The strike marked the latest security incident at the long-shuttered complex.

That accident released massive amounts of radiation and forced the permanent evacuation of surrounding communities. AFP journalists conducted the reporting specifically to mark four decades since the disaster. Their entry into the plant provided direct observation of conditions at the site as anniversary coverage intensified.

The plant is located in Ukraine. Its containment structures, built in the years after the meltdown, have now sustained visible damage from the February 2025 drone strike. @AFP reported that the journalists' access offered a rare look inside the zone still defined by the consequences of the 1986 meltdown and now confronted by new physical damage to its protective shields.