Photos: Chornobyl’s ‘liquidators’ return 40 years after nuclear disaster

Oleksii Lebedynets, 65, served in the military from 1986 to 1991, building fences in contaminated areas. He suffered from headaches for the rest of his life. Returning now, he stopped at Pripyat, the nearby city for Chornobyl's workers, which has been abandoned since the accident. \"It's heartbreaking to see Pripyat now,\" he said. \"I remember those houses when they were full of life, and now everything is overgrown and in ruins. It was such a beautiful city.\" [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]