Chernobyl (Chornobyl, Ukrainian: Чорнобиль, Russian: Чернобыль) is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in the Kiev Oblast (province) near the border with Belarus ( ).
The city was evacuated in 1986 due to the disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which is located 14.5 kilometers (9 miles) north-northwest. The power plant has been named after the city, and was located in Chernobyl Raion (district), but it was not the residence of power plant workers. At the time of power plant construction a twin city of the plant, Prypiat was built closer to the plant to be home for power plant workers.
Nowadays, even though the city is basically uninhabited, a few people still live there. The occupied houses are not so distinguishable from the rest, and there are signs on them stating that the "Owner of this house lives here". Also, workers on watch and administrative personnel of the Zone of Alienation are stationed in the city on term basis. Before the accident, the city was inhabited by about 14,000 residents.