Ukraine remembers the largest man-made disaster of the 20th century. Today marks 40 years since an explosion occurred that led to the exposure of an operating nuclear reactor at the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The disaster resulted in severe socio-economic, medical, and environmental consequences for tens of thousands of square kilometers of Ukrainian and Belarusian territory and hundreds of thousands of people.
However, the consequences could have been much worse. That was prevented by the desperate and professional actions of the liquidators – station workers and firefighting brigades – who managed to localize the source of contamination and prevent the escalation of the technological disaster.
In the city of Slavutych, with a population of 20,000 and built for the workers of the plant to replace the evacuated Pripyat, a memorial has been erected dedicated to the first dozens of liquidators who died from acute radiation sickness in the first days after the disaster.
On the night of April 25 to 26 2026, city residents, including many liquidators themselves, current plant workers, and their relatives, gather in the city center at the memorial.
They hold lamps and candles in their hands as a symbol of remembrance.
In the darkness, they arrange them into a large radiation hazard sign.
Almost every one of them has a relative who was a liquidator, suffers from illnesses caused by radiation, or has died from them.
The memory of the liquidators who stopped the progression of the disaster is an important part of the area’s local identity. The city’s main monument – an angel holding a wreath as a symbol of victory over radiation – is brightly illuminated on the night of remembrance.
The city authorities have also organized a large museum, featuring many exhibits from 1986, as well as interactive materials with audio accompaniment and VR.
Currently, it is one of the most comprehensive and highest-quality museums dedicated to the Chornobyl disaster.
At 00:26 Kyiv time, people approach the monument to the liquidators. An honor guard in white chemical protection suits, reminiscent of the clothing worn by the liquidators in 1986, strikes a bell.
After this, in the middle of the night, hundreds of city residents lay flowers at the monument, where portraits of those who first took on the fight against the consequences of the disaster – and perished – are engraved.
Among those laying flowers are representatives of the city authorities, members of parliament, the public, foreigners who helped in the liquidation efforts, those who worked or work at the plant, and those who personally knew the deceased.
On the 40th anniversary of the disaster, the event was very well attended – up to 1,000 people gathered in the city center at night, and hundreds laid flowers at the monument.
It is also important that among those honoring the memory of the liquidators are many young people and children – the older generation is passing this memory on to the next generations.