Scaffolding holding a remnant of the Soviet Union, the hammer and sickle, is seen on a rooftop of an abandoned building in the town of Pripyat on January 25, 2006 near Chernobyl, Ukraine. The town of Pripyat, deserted since the 1986 catastrophe, once housed 30,000 people, the majority of being workers from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Days after the catastrophe the inhabitants were relocated to other locations in the Soviet Union. The town of Pripyat has remained uninhabited since. Prypyat and the surrounding area will not be safe for human habitation for several centuries. Scientists estimate that the most dangerous radioactive elements will take up to 900 years to decay sufficiently to render the area safe.

A childrens' fairground is seen in the town of Pripyat on January 29, 2006 near Chernobyl, Ukraine. The town of Pripyat, deserted since the 1986 catastrophe, once housed 30,000 people, the majority workers from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Days after the catastrophe the inhabitants were relocated to other locations in the Soviet Union. The town of Pripyat has remained uninhabited since the Catastrophe.

Highly radiated helicopters used to dump concrete and water on the reactor 4 during the 1986 catastrophe lay in a field near the village of Rosoha on January 31, 2006 in Chernobyl, Ukraine. From April 27 to May 5, more than 30 military helicopters flew over the burning reactor. They failed to put out the fire with 2400 tonnes of lead and 1800 tonnes of sand. Tanks, helicopters, and all terrain vehicles from the Soviet Union's Red Army were left in this dump due to their high levels of radiation.