Meet the new face of Chernobyl

By Thom Patterson, CNN

Updated 8:53 PM ET, Sun April 24, 2016

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For three years photographer Niels Ackermann followed the life of Yulia, a 23-year-old he met in 2012. The young woman lives in Slavutych, Ukraine, a town near Chernobyl built for disaster evacuees. "These essentially are the children of Chernobyl," Ackermann said.
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For three years photographer Niels Ackermann followed the life of Yulia, a 23-year-old he met in 2012. The young woman lives in Slavutych, Ukraine, a town near Chernobyl built for disaster evacuees. "These essentially are the children of Chernobyl," Ackermann said.
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Slavutych is surrounded by a dense pine forest. When the architects in charge of the project picked the location to build the town, they selected this place in the middle of a forest because the end of a railway line made the transportation of construction material easier.
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Slavutych is surrounded by a dense pine forest. When the architects in charge of the project picked the location to build the town, they selected this place in the middle of a forest because the end of a railway line made the transportation of construction material easier.
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Yulia and Dima celebrate the payment of a friend's salary in 2012.
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Yulia and Dima celebrate the payment of a friend's salary in 2012.
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The nine-floor Hotel Viktoria in Slavutych remains incomplete. Although access is forbidden, the city's teenagers often hang out there, Ackermann said.
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The nine-floor Hotel Viktoria in Slavutych remains incomplete. Although access is forbidden, the city's teenagers often hang out there, Ackermann said.
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A mural in an empty school in the abandoned Ukrainian town of Pripyat.
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A mural in an empty school in the abandoned Ukrainian town of Pripyat.
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A young man performs acrobatics on a fixed bar at a playground in Slavutych. There aren't many career options in the area and there's not much to keep young people entertained, Ackermann said.
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A young man performs acrobatics on a fixed bar at a playground in Slavutych. There aren't many career options in the area and there's not much to keep young people entertained, Ackermann said.
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A mock-up of the city is displayed in the local museum.
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A mock-up of the city is displayed in the local museum.
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Zhenya lies on Yulia's shoulder in 2013. Ackermann watched Yulia turn into a young adult through his camera's viewfinder. He saw her struggle as she moved from job to job and from a party lifestyle to relationships, marriage and then divorce.
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Zhenya lies on Yulia's shoulder in 2013. Ackermann watched Yulia turn into a young adult through his camera's viewfinder. He saw her struggle as she moved from job to job and from a party lifestyle to relationships, marriage and then divorce.
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A radioactive field near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
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A radioactive field near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
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