The Chernobyl Nature Reserve has been reduced following a decree from Zelensky; the reason has been disclosed.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has signed a decree altering the boundaries of the Chernobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve. The lands that have been removed are now transferred to the State Border Guard Service for the construction of engineering and technical facilities. This was reported by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGSU).

"The President of Ukraine, by decree No. 835/2024, has modified the boundaries of the Chernobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve. Land parcels 45 meters wide along the state border, totaling 695.2 hectares, have been removed from its territory," the statement said.

According to the SBGSU, these lands have been allocated to border guards for the establishment of engineering and technical structures, border markers, and communications.

After the changes, the total area of the reserve will amount to 226,269.5 hectares.

In March 2024, it was already reported that part of the Chernobyl reserve territories along the border line would be handed over to military units of the SBGSU for the formation of defense lines.

It is worth noting that in April 2022, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko stated that Russian military personnel were exposed to high doses of radiation, which would lead to a painful death from radiation sickness. About 10,000 units of equipment have been contaminated. According to Halushchenko, Russians dug trenches with bare hands, filled bags with radioactive sand for fortifications, and inhaled contaminated dust.

Furthermore, employees of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company "Energoatom" concluded after soil inspections that Russian troops were subjected to lethal doses of cesium and plutonium in the exclusion zone. Other individuals who came into contact with them may also succumb to radiation sickness.