Abandoned plant and wasteland: Ukraine eyes Unesco World Heritage tag for Chernobyl

Putting Chernobyl on the Unesco heritage list is a first and important step towards having this great place as a unique destination of interest for the whole of mankind, said Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko.

A mothballed nuclear power station surrounded by wasteland, rubble and abandoned buildings is not what most people associate with a Unesco World Heritage site. But that is exactly what Ukraine has in mind for Chernobyl. Hoping that such an assignation could mean more funding and more tourists, the government has begun a process that could eventually allow it to apply to the United Nations' cultural, scientific and education body for protection. On April 26, the former Soviet republic marks the 35th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, when a reactor at the plant, located some 108 km (67 miles) north of the capital Kyiv, exploded during a botched safety test.