Visiting the football stadium left in ruins after the Chernobyl disaster

A row of trees line the space between the stand and running track.
“On the 39th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, The Athletic’s Richard Sutcliffe recalls a visit to the nearby town of Pripyat, once home to a proud and ambitious football club, who in 1986 were about to open a brand new stadium… … The scene of the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history may not be everyone’s idea of a holiday destination, but having long been fascinated by the old Eastern Bloc and particularly an episode many believe hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union, a few days in Kyiv couldn’t be allowed to pass without making the two-hour drive north towards the border with Belarus. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

The crumbling walls around what was once the players’ tunnel at Stadium Avanhard.