Transcarpathian Zone

"While the Zone may be linked to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the town of Pripyat, it is not its only source. Who knows what experiments were carried out in these areas before the Great War. And now all the horrors have been unleashed in this place. These mysterious disappearances, and all these abnormal things, could not have been caused by radiation. Something or somebody is responsible for this phenomenon."
--The theory of Agoston Kovacs, a scientist at the Directory
== Origin of the Zone ==
=== 2050-2060 ===
In 2050, Transcarpathia will also be largely untouched by nuclear weapons. 
Not much is known for sure about the history of the region between 2050 and 2060. The Ukrainian-Hungarian border was sealed, so there had to be some kind of unified defence policy, but any attempt at contact on the border ended in clashes. Later, the refugees told us that a unified Ruthenian government had been formed in Ungvár, which was characterised by strong anti-Hungarianism and an isolationist policy. However, they were unable to exercise power anywhere except in the larger towns and military districts, where independent municipalities and criminal gangs exercised power.
=== 2061-2063 ===
In 2061, as the Garai Block was heading towards collapse in Debrecen, strange phenomena began to terrorise the population. At first, it was only in the mountain villages that strange lights were reported to be seen moving around the mountain peaks, and strange noises could be heard from the wilderness. Howls broke the silence at night, the kind that a human throat would have been unable to utter. Then they ventured closer and closer to the settlements. They prowled around the houses, and in the streets, unknown shadows prowled about, which no one could observe. Soon the first disappearances occurred. Several babies simply disappeared from their cribs and were never found again. They were followed by panicked vigilantes and field police. Entire villages were wiped off the map in a matter of days as the shadows burst out of the mountains and moved lower and lower into the lowlands. The wildlife became dangerous too. Fierce wolves, big cats and bears prowled the wilderness, and in some areas that had previously been thought peaceful, attacks became commonplace. 
The Ukrainian Security Forces immediately mobilised to protect the population from the "demons", but all they achieved was the loss of hundreds of inexperienced soldiers in the already corrupted countryside, without any results.
The first clashes on the former Ukrainian-Hungarian border took place in the autumn of 2061, when Ukrainian border guards started shooting civilians trying to escape across the border in front of their Hungarian counterparts. The Hungarian border guards did not intervene in the atrocities, but it took little time for them to be drawn into the conflict. Some refugees managed to cross despite the complete closure and news of what was going on in the hills began to spread. The first and last official contact with the government in Uzhhorod was when the incumbent commander of the Bereg was called upon to hand over the fugitives or face a military response. After he refused to do so and, on a mistaken superior order, Hungarian border guards fired on Ukrainian civilian refugees, the Ukrainian Defence Forces launched a full-scale attack on Beregsurany, which was repulsed by the rested but heavily casualties Hungarian guards.
The attack collapsed, and the unarmed border guards, throwing away their equipment, rushed towards the Hungarian positions to surrender. The Ungvár government collapsed weeks later, replaced by tiny factions left in its ruins. Fighting against the creatures of the anomalous zone, or preparing to break into the still untouched Hungarian territories.
A huge wave of refugees started to arrive on the Hungarian border, which was already noticed from Debrecen. they could not let anyone through, food resources became too scarce after the land reform of 2062 which destroyed agriculture around Debrecen. The Hungarian border guards were ordered to fire on the refugees if necessary if they did not turn back against orders, which only made the situation worse when they fired into the civilian refugees.
However, this did not stop the invasion, and in the winter of 2062/63, an organised attack on the border was launched by a paramilitary organization, the Ukrainian Svoboda Movement. The incident became known only as the "Ruthenian Crisis". Thousands were lost on both sides as Ukrainian militias pushed forward to break through the sealed border, while outnumbered border guards, home guards and volunteer troops held them back.
The crisis came to an end in February 2063, after the Siege of Tarpaulin Hill, when "Svoboda" was defeated. However, the wave of refugees could not be reversed.
=== Currently ===
By 2063, the Zone was largely uninhabited. Only a few village communities, many Gaia-worshipping cultists, and the Liquidators led by Alexander Kornilov remained in the mountains.
The Zone is policed by the Stalkers of Várárosnamény and Beregszék. In addition, the Debrecen Directorate is conducting research on the environment, which has changed completely in more than ten years. It is rumoured that there are also a number of Ukrainian mercenaries and stalkers, mainly from the city of Lviv, also known as "White Stalkers".
Category:The Dark Future
Category:Locations
Category:Nuclear Holocaust
Category:Lore