In Ukraine, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant are honored - people who were the first to protect the country and the world from the consequences of the greatest man-made disaster of the 20th century.
Chornobyl disaster
On the night of April 26, 1986, during an experiment at the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, an explosion occurred that completely destroyed the reactor. A huge amount of radioactive substances, including isotopes of cesium, strontium and plutonium, was released into the atmosphere. The radiation level in the first hours after the accident exceeded the permissible norms by tens of thousands of times.
Despite the mortal danger, the plant workers and firefighters immediately began extinguishing the fire and eliminating the consequences of the explosion. Their actions were aimed at preventing the fire from spreading to neighboring power units and preventing an even larger disaster.
First victims and rescue
Firefighters and workers at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant worked without special protective equipment, receiving lethal doses of radiation. Many of them were later taken to Moscow hospitals, where they died of radiation sickness. Their actions prevented an even larger disaster.
Liquidators at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Photo: bigfoto.in.ua
Evacuation and resettlement
The city of Pripyat was evacuated only 36 hours after the explosion. Residents were told that they were leaving their homes temporarily, and were allowed to take only the most necessary things. Over time, the exclusion zone expanded, and the resettlement covered more than 115,000 people in the first years and hundreds of thousands more in the following decades.
Many displaced people lost not only their homes, but also their jobs, social connections, and their usual way of life.
Evacuation. Photo: localhistory.org.ua
Eliminating the consequences
More than 600,000 people were involved in the liquidation work. They decontaminated soil, buildings, and equipment, removed contaminated materials, and erected a concrete sarcophagus over the destroyed reactor. Part of the work was performed by the military, who were sent to the zone for a few minutes due to the extremely high level of radiation.
A separate page were miners who, in extreme conditions, laid tunnels under the reactor to prevent its further destruction.
Where are the liquidators today
Almost four decades have passed since the Chornobyl disaster, and today most of its liquidators are elderly. A significant part of them have already passed away due to diseases related to radiation exposure, in particular cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Those liquidators who are alive today live in different regions of Ukraine, as well as abroad. They have the official status of victims of the Chornobyl disaster and require constant medical supervision, treatment and social support. For many of them, the consequences of participating in the liquidation of the accident remain a part of everyday life today.
Firefighters Volodymyr Pravyk and Vasyl Ihnatenko, as well as many other liquidators whose names are known only to their families and colleagues, have become symbols of the Chornobyl feat. A special place in history is occupied by "biorobots" - soldiers who, instead of equipment, were sent to the roof of the reactor to clean up radioactive debris.
Natalia Khodemchuk, the wife of Valerii Khodemchuk, who became the first victim of the Chornobyl disaster, was killed as a result of the russian attack on Kyiv on November 14. The woman lived in a house in Troyeshchyna, where an enemy drone hit - her apartment burned down completely, and Natalia herself died in the hospital. As it turned out, the high-rise building that the russian drone attacked was the so-called station building, or Chornobyl building. It was here that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant workers and their families, who were evacuated from Pripyat after the disaster, were settled.
Spread of radiation
After the explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the radioactive cloud spread far beyond the borders of Ukraine. Contamination was recorded in Belarus and russia, as well as in many European countries - from the Scandinavian countries to Central and South-Eastern Europe, including the Balkans.
The greatest consequences were suffered by Belarus, which received a significant portion of the radioactive fallout. The impact of the accident is still felt: radionuclides remain in forests, soils and water bodies, forming the so-called "Chornobyl stains" and creating long-term environmental risks.
Series about the Chornobyl disaster
The Chornobyl disaster has become the subject of several series projects that interpret the events of 1986 and their consequences in different ways:
"Chernobyl" (2019, HBO): The most famous and resonant miniseries about the disaster. It recreates in detail the events of the first days after the explosion, the work of the liquidators, the actions of the Soviet authorities and human destinies. The series has received numerous international awards and significantly increased global attention to the topic of Chornobyl.
"Chornobyl: The Exclusion Zone" (2014-2019): A feature-length series with elements of mysticism and thriller. The events unfold in the modern exclusion zone and are partly related to the Chornobyl disaster. It is of a fictional, not a documentary nature.
"Chornobyl. Chronicles of the Hard Weeks": A documentary series based on eyewitness accounts and archival materials. It tells about the liquidation of the disaster and the lives of people after the disaster.
"The Battle of Chernobyl" (2006): A documentary series/film that describes in detail the fight against the consequences of the disaster, the work of the liquidators and the scale of the danger to Europe.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, as a result of a russian drone attack in February 2025, the new safe confinement of the Chornobyl NPP suffered serious damage.
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