Are forest fires unlocking radiation in Chernobyl?

An exclusion zone has keep the area surrounding the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster hidden from public view for many years. But in 2020 there were a record amount of forest fires in the area.

The firefighters sent in to tackle the blazes in the radioactive forests agreed to speak to BBC anonymously, scared of losing their jobs.

Their accounts expose a month of chaos in which fires almost reached the nuclear reactors.

Journalism: Zhanna Bezpiatchuk and Charlotte Pamment

Produced by Charlotte Pamment, Tui McLean and Zhanna Bezpiatchuk

Edited by Charlotte Pamment and Tui McLean

Graphics: Joe Payne, Stelios Thoukidides, Denis Korolev

Satellite analysis support: Ana Lucia Gonzalez