Forest fires in the Chernobyl zone bordering Belarus have been going on for a week now, with the nearest fire found just 50 meters from the border. This information was confirmed by the satellite image fire detection system (VIIRS), which is actively used to monitor the situation on the territory of the Chernobyl radiation-ecological biosphere reserve.

Today, on May 29, the main fire center is located at a distance of 2,2 km from the border with the Republic of Belarus, however, an analysis of the fire chronology over the past 7 days shows that fires began on May 22 at several points at once. Initially, the outbreak closest to the border was only 450 meters from the Belarusian border.

However, the very next day, on May 23, satellites registered another fire, located even closer to the border - just 50 meters from it. On the Belarusian side, the nearest settlement to this fire is the village of Aleksandrovka in the Narovlyansky district of the Gomel region.

The situation with fires in the Chernobyl zone raises serious concerns, as they can lead to the spread of radioactive substances that are still stored in the area after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.