Thirty-seventh Anniversary of Chornobyl Disaster: Ukraine Commemorates Tragedy Victims

Thirty-seven years ago – on the night of 25-26 April 1986 – an explosion occurred at the 4th power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which led to the release of huge doses of radiation and radioactive substances into the atmosphere.

The Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant became a symbol of the greatest man-made disaster in the history of mankind, as well as a symbol of the courage and sacrifice of thousands of people who eliminated the consequences of the accident.

On the 37th anniversary of the tragedy, President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the liquidators who died as a result of the accident at the nuclear power plant.

“Thirty-seven years ago, the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant left a huge scar on the whole world. The radiation leak turned the once cozy and developed territory into an exclusion zone. Today, the 30km zone around Chornobyl remains a dangerous place with a high concentration of radiation,” the Head of State noted.

He noted that the Russian invaders not only seized the nuclear plant but also put the whole world at risk again last year.

“We must do everything possible to prevent the terrorist state from using nuclear energy facilities to blackmail Ukraine and the whole world,” Zelensky stressed.

He also reported that scientific and security enterprises in the exclusion zone already returned to normal operation a year after the liberation of the NPP’s territory.

The President emphasised that Ukraine and the world paid a high price for eliminating the consequences of the disaster at the Chornobyl NPP, which is felt up to this day.

Bohdan Marusyak