Abandoned Cities and Villages of Ukraine That Give You Goosebumps

Every year, not only Ukraine’s population is shrinking, but also what were once cozy and developed towns and villages. In just the last 30 years, more than 600 settlements in the country have officially ceased to exist. As for unregistered villages and hamlets, their number may be no less impressive. The number of vanished settlements keeps growing because of demographic, economic, and environmental problems. Such villages can be seen in every region. So, we offer a short list of the most striking abandoned towns and villages of Ukraine that will send a shiver down your spine.

“Dead” villages of Chernihiv region

Have you ever watched horror films in which people end up in deserted cities? That is exactly what the settlement of Khaiikha has turned into, where no one has lived for 20 years. The settlement died out after the last resident left in 2001. Young people went off to find work in more developed cities in search of work and the chance to live in favorable conditions. Older people either spent their final years here or moved to their relatives. And so, year by year, a small settlement in Chernihiv region turned into a deserted and neglected place.

A worse fate befell the settlement of Vasylivka. You can no longer find it on the map or see it with your own eyes, because it has turned into a plowed field. The old buildings were destroyed and leveled to the ground, and now sunflower and wheat crops rise where they once stood.

There are many similar “dead” places in Chernihiv region. For example, the existence of the settlement of Lozove is marked only by one surviving well, while the deserted settlement of Barvynivka has only one registered living resident.

Victims of the Chornobyl disaster

Everyone knows about the city of Prypiat. It seems to have frozen in place and really is a frame from a horror film, when all humanity disappears in an instant. The abandoned belongings of residents still lie on the asphalt, rust is already showing through the peeling and faded paint on the iron playgrounds, and the high-rise concrete buildings have long since stopped hearing human voices. Everything valuable has already been looted, and only the owners’ trifles may remind one of the happy years of the residents of the Chornobyl region.

Anyone who wishes can see the real state of affairs and feel this atmosphere of horror and catastrophe, because despite the elevated radiation levels, bus and even plane tours are organized to the abandoned towns of the Chornobyl region.

The Chornobyl disaster also left its deadly mark on the settlement of Poliske, which is located 50 km from Chornobyl. It was a developed district center that was tried at least three times to be restored through decontamination. However, neither the removal of the top layer of soil, nor the rebuilding of houses, nor the installation of a new water main and gas pipeline produced results. After a brief decline, radiation levels rose again and again. Residents were not allowed to leave… Only from 1993 were the residents of Poliske allowed to leave their homes. By 1999, the settlement had simply disappeared from the list of settlements. Although there are rumors that several residents still live here, having refused to leave their native homes.

Deadly beauty of Khmelnytsk region

Have you ever heard of a wonderfully beautiful place called Bakota? That was the name of the settlement in Khmelnytsk region, where about 2500 people lived. The settlement covered about 10 ha, which were completely flooded because of the construction of the hydroelectric power plant. Of course, the residents were relocated in advance. They had to do more than simply leave their native places; they also had to destroy their own homes. The state compensated 20% of the value for destroying one’s own house. Cynical, but that was the reality of the 80s of the last century. Today, the settlement’s territory is completely flooded with water. The vast lake that formed impresses with its size and depth. Trees and bushes have grown all around, people come here for short-term rest, and only the neglected sign at the bus stop reminds visitors that homes are flooded on the bottom of the beautiful lake.

“Sweet death” of Tsukrovariv

It is hard to imagine that in 18 years a thriving settlement with a population of 6000 people would cease to exist in just a few years. The history of the settlement of Tsukrovariv began with the opening in 1986 of the third-largest sugar plant in terms of output in the former USSR. Around it, 10 apartment blocks, a school, a kindergarten, a shop, a fire station, a shop — everything needed for a full life for the residents — were built. However, the plant’s shutdown left the entire population of Tsukrovariv without work. People were forced to seek their fortune in other settlements and cities. And so, within just a few years, the settlement’s population fell to 100 people. The buildings stand empty and neglected. Their appearance is so frightening that they were used as set decoration for filming a movie about the tragedy in eastern Ukraine — the Ilovaisk cauldron.

The people who still live in the town are left without water, heating, or gas supply. They are forced to find firewood on their own and carry water from the well in order to provide themselves with the bare minimum needed to exist.

Unfortunately, the list of abandoned villages and towns of Ukraine, destroyed by nature and later erased from the map, grows every year. But even this situation can be changed if state funds are directed toward rebuilding and developing small but promising Ukrainian settlements.