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Ukraine marks 33rd anniversary of Chornobyl nuclear disaster (PHOTOS)

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Widows of men who died as a result of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster hold portraits of their dead husbands during a tribute ceremony at the Chornobyl's Memorial in Kyiv on April 26, 2019.
Photo by Oleg Petrasiuk

Ukraine on April 26, 2019 marked the 33rd anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, the world’s worst nuclear accident.

Members of the public, relatives of those who died as a result of the disaster, and those who fought the fire and and release of radioactive particles at the plant in April 1986 attended a ceremony at the memorial to the disaster in Kyiv.

Reactor No. 4 at the Choronobyl nuclear power plant was destroyed early on April 26, 1986 after an experiment to test the reactor went wrong.

The resulting explosion and fire sent a vast plume of radioactive contamination over much of Europe. Parts of Ukraine north of the capital Kyiv remain off-limits to the public due to lingering radioactive contamination, and a large number of towns and villages close to the plant had to permanently abandoned.