Belarus’ population living in contaminated areas decreases by 8,000 in 2025

April 23, Pozirk. In 2025, the number of people living in Belarus’ areas contaminated with radioactive substances decreased by 8,000 people, said Leanid Dziedul, chief of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Ministry for Emergency Management.

After the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, the number fell from 2.2 million in 1986 to 922,000 on January 1, 2026.

After the disaster, more than 20,000 hectares of land were reclaimed through “achievements of science,” Dziedul said at a news conference in Minsk.

Although the power plant is located in Ukraine, Belarus was the hardest hit by the explosion with 70 percent of the fallout landing on the country.

About 25,000 square meters of its territory remains contaminated, down from 47,000 sq m, of 23 percent of the country, in 1986, according to a national report published by the department on the 40^th anniversary of the catastrophe.  

Last year, Alaksandar Łukašenka urged his officials to step up efforts to decontaminate affected areas and take the land back into agricultural production.  

“What have we been doing during these 30 years if 900,000 [people] still live in the contaminated territory?” he questioned officials at a government conference in Minsk.

He noted that no one should live in the contaminated territory.

The No. 4 reactor exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the early hours of April 26, 1986.

Security

Security

Management Academy assesses damage from Chernobyl accident at $235 billion

April 16, Pozirk. The Minsk-based Management Academy has prepared a brief on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident for lecturers at monthly political briefings for youths, workers and intelligentsia. It provides staggering numbers on the extent of damage caused by the …

Read