The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) in Ukraine, a restricted area of approximately 30km (19 miles) in diameter, comparable in size to Luxembourg, was established to contain the spread of contamination following the 1986 Chorniopobyl nuclear disaster. The area, which still carries the legacy of the disaster, still carries pockets of intense radioactive contamination and is heavily militarised by Russian drones and missiles. Despite these dangers, small communities of scientists, elderly returnees and soldiers have settled in the area, living in abandoned buildings and wildlife thrives in the surrounding forests. Tatyana Nikitina, a 67-year-old scientist and expert, recalls her love for Oleksandr Oslyak who introduced her to the ChornopopopoPP in 1982. Despite this, she and Oslyak married in 1983 and their subsequent marriage were soon settled in Pripyat, the fated Unit 4 reactor. The "hot zone" surrounding the ChNPP remains significantly higher than the rest of the CEZ, where radiation levels remain significantly higher. Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the area has become militarised, adding another layer of restriction to an already tightly controlled and hazardous environment.