Belarusian researches initially considered two sites for the plant, with the other located in a sparsely-populated and radioactively-contaminated area near the village of Krasnaya Palyana near Bykhaw, Mahilyow region. But media reports said earlier this fall that the other site had been found unfit for the project.

There are no stores, schools or other familiar amenities in Kukshynava, but there is a House of Social Protection where the folks of Uladzimir Skurykhin, a kind of a village warden, live. Mr. Skurykhin says that there are around 28 houses in the village, with a half of them already empty. The residents total 28 people, including 26 elderly people.

Local residents show understanding for the possible construction of a nuclear power plant but note that it will be sad to move from the home village if the project goes ahead. "It is a pity to leave our village. We have grown up, worked and lived our entire life here. Our everything is here," a resident says.

The village is located 30 kilometers of the Russian border, 213 of Minsk, 31 of Orsha, 50 of Mahilyow, 99 of Vitsyebsk, 14 of Horky and 33 of Shklow.

Geologists at the site say that the work is being carried out quicker than at the previous site, with many machines involved. Explosions are heard in a forest next to the village. Belhealohiya experts working in several teams conduct air blast drilling there.

The work kicked off this past September and is expected to be completed by March 2008.

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