MINSK, 26 December (BelTA) – For the first time since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident a Christmas tree has been decorated in Ukraine's Pripyat, BelTA learned from the Russian news agency TASS.
The Christmas tree has been put up in the city center, near the Palace of Culture Energetik. The ceremony to unveil the tree brought together former residents of the city. They decorated the tree with ornaments and photos. The event was initiated by tour operators that specialize in tours of the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
In the summer of 2019, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree lifting a number of bans on visiting the exclusion zone and creating a "green corridor" for tourists. The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management developed water routes along the rivers Pripyat and Uzh. According to the agency, the routes are absolutely safe. In 2019, over 90,000 tourists visited the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
