Ukrainian authorities on Thursday asked fans of a popular video game set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, north of kyiv, not to travel to the contaminated site.
STALKER 2: Heart of ChernobylReleased on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, it is a video game published by a Ukrainian studio whose action takes place in the area devastated by the nuclear disaster of April 26, 1986.
An area closed to the public.
In this game, players navigate a post-apocalyptic territory around the nuclear power plant, filled with mutants and humanoid monsters.
“It has been discovered that a considerable number of adventurers who tried to illegally enter the prohibited zone in search of thrills were video game enthusiasts,” Ukrainian border guards lamented in a statement on Thursday.
Nearly 120 foreigners were arrested for illegally entering the area in 2021, before the Russian invasion, according to figures published by border guards.
Their number “has decreased” since the Russian invasion in February 2022, “but there are still some,” a border guard source explains to AFP.
“These are mainly Ukrainians who wanted to visit the Chernobyl zone and walk in places where walking is prohibited,” this source said. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is one of the most radioactively contaminated areas in the world.
Before the Russian invasion in February 2022, it was possible to visit the place with a guide, but for almost three years the area has been completely closed to tourists.
Source: BFM TV
