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12 July 2019Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed the decree authorizing free access to tourists in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Zelensky declared it at the commissioning ceremony after 20 years of work on the new sarcophagus covering the reactor exploded on April 26, 1986 in what remains the most serious nuclear accident in history. 



The Ukrainian president said that his decree "will be the beginning of the transformation of the exclusion zone into one of the growth areas of the new Ukraine, removing the preconditions for corruption and bad bans".

According to Zelensky, Chernobyl "will become the symbol of freedom for the new Ukraine, ensuring investment and the future".

The purpose of the decree is to create a "green corridor" for tourists, removing the preconditions for corruption - unmotivated prohibitions, endless rows of tourists and bureaucratic delays at the only checkpoint that guarantees access to Chernobyl. In addition, the ban on video shooting and photographs anywhere will be lifted.

Chernobil today: many bans
Currently, Chernobyl is scheduled to visit groups of tourists every day, a few hundred a day. Prices per person range from $ 90 to $ 150. Tourists are taught how to use the dosimeter and are given a survival course in areas of high radioactivity.
To be admitted, the tourist must be of legal age and wear waterproof clothes. It is forbidden to place personal effects and equipment for shooting photos and videos on the ground, to sit or lie on the ground, you cannot consume food or take away objects from the exclusion zone. Those who are discovered with stolen objects in Chernobyl risk a criminal conviction for trafficking in radioactive substances. You can buy a multi-day tour: in Chernobyl there are two hotels, a hostel and a diner.