Chornobyl: News

News Feed

How Ukraine defends Kupiansk from Russian troops crawling through pipes

KHARKIV OBLAST — The longest a Russian soldier can hope to survive for after emerging from the underground pipeline is, according to those hunting them, one single hour. "But it's usually 10 minutes, and that's it," "Tovsty," chief sergeant of a company in Ukraine's Khartiia Brigade, says at a command post in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast. Tovsty is watching live drone footage showing a scene which has been repeating itself over and over again for months now — Russian soldiers emerging from disu

A Ukrainian serviceman of the Khartiia Brigade at a command post near Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on April 1, 2026.

About Chornobyl

Chornobyl in northern Ukraine is the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, which occurred in 1986. The site is approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Kyiv. Russian forces seized the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone on February 24, 2022, occupying the contaminated area until late March 2022 and causing disruptions to radiation monitoring. Ukrainian authorities restored control after Russian troops withdrew in the spring of 2022.

Read more

News Feed