Gray wolves now living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone also show a new genetic resistance to cancer, researchers have found.

The Chernobyl disaster occurred when technicians at the power station, near Pripyat in the north of Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, ran a test on reactor number four to simulate shutting it down during an electricity blackout.

Chernobyl's worst day may have turned out to be a windfall for its wolves. As the 40th anniversary of the 1986 reactor meltdown rolled around on Sunday, scientists say wolf numbers in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are now about seven times higher than before the disaster,

The best and most chilling adaptions of the Chernobyl disaster appeared on HBO Max in a five part miniseries simply called "Chernobyl.". As I watched it, I was filled with as much dread as any top notch horror movie.

Ideas have been floated for how the contaminated zone could bring economic benefits to Ukraine. But for the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt.

Residents of the region continue to battle health and environmental issues from the April 26, 1986, disaster as conflict rages around them.

Russia could spark a new nuclear accident in Ukraine 40 years on from the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, experts have warned. MORE UPDATES TO FOLLOW... Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to ...