Ukraine seized vodka made from Chernobyl apples. The scientists who made it want it back

Ukraine seized 1,500 bottles of a liquor made by scientists from apples grown in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

KYIV, Ukraine -- A team of British and Ukrainian scientists are battling Ukraine's government in court for the return of 1,500 bottles of liquor made from "radioactive" apples grown near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The liquor, branded as Atomik, is part of a four-year experiment by the scientists to see if they could produce a product safe to consume from crops grown in an area that was contaminated during the 1986 nuclear disaster at the plant. The team sourced the apples from a farmer inside the outer ring of the 18-mile "Exclusion Zone." Around 10,000 people still live in that outer zone and the scientists hoped that farming, which is still officially banned there, can now be safe to resume. The first bottle of the liquor was produced in 2019 and scientists used rye grain and water from the Exclusion Zone. This year, the scientists had hoped to ship their first batch to the United Kingdom, with profits intended to go to the local community near Chernobyl.