On the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, Ukraine’s General Staff and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the scale of the 1986 catastrophe. And warned about renewed risks of technological and nuclear threats caused by Russia’s actions.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a statement citing the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, while Zelenskyy shared his remarks on Facebook.
Details
The General Staff recalled that on April 26, 1986, explosions occurred during an experiment at reactor No. 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, releasing radioactive materials and contaminating large parts of Europe. According to UNSCEAR and the World Health Organization, the disaster ranks among the most severe nuclear accidents in history.
Officials attributed the tragedy to reactor design flaws, construction violations, and the Soviet authorities’ concealment of information, which worsened the consequences. The accident exposed millions of people to radiation, forced mass evacuations, and caused widespread environmental contamination.
Zelenskyy stressed both historical and present-day risks:
“Forty years ago, the world faced one of the largest nuclear disasters – the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded.”
He noted that experts built a sarcophagus over the reactor to contain radiation, later replaced by a safe confinement structure supported by dozens of countries. At the same time, he warned about new dangers:
“But Russia’s war again brings the world to the edge of a technological disaster: Russian-Iranian ‘Shaheds’ constantly fly over the plant, and one of them struck the confinement structure last year.”
According to the General Staff, a Russian drone damaged the shelter over the fourth reactor in 2025.
Context
The Chornobyl disaster remains the worst technological accident in human history, and experts continue to study its long-term effects.
Amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, concerns about nuclear safety have increased again. Shelling and drone flights near nuclear facilities raise fears of potential accidents in Europe.
Earlier The Ukrainian Review noted that Ukraine is preparing for a new phase of the war, while negotiations involving the United States and Russia remain stalled.
