40-anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

26 April 2026 year passes 40 years from the tragic date of our history, accident at the Chornobyl NPP. Many fateful events took place during this period: restoration of Ukraine's independence, two modern Ukrainian revolutions, Russian-Ukrainian war. However,, we return again and again to the intense dramatic days, which took place during the months of liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The subject of Chernobyl does not lose its relevance even today. A, можливо, needs even more attention and responsibility, given the events of our recent history , Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

22 April in the Chernihiv regional historical museum named after. In. An event was held in Tarnovsky to mark the 40th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Veteran liquidators of the consequences of the accident visited the museum, head of Chernihiv OVA Vyacheslav Chaus, Deputy Head of State Administration Zhanna Sherstyuk, Deputy Chairman of the Chernihiv Regional Council Dmytro Blaush, students of the Chernihiv Vocational Lyceum of Railway Transport, artists of the bandurist band named after. Ostapa Veresaya and vocalists of the Chernihiv Regional Philharmonic Center of Festivals and Concert Programs. Authorities awarded the veterans with Certificates of Honor and thanks.

Museum employees conducted a small historical retrospective review of events, talked about the "Chernobyl" museum collection, remembered the many years of fruitful cooperation with the NGO "Soyuz "Chernobyl". We reviewed the documentary chronicle of events 1986 year, and emphasized nuclear security in the conditions of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war.

In its consequences, the accident became a catastrophe of a planetary scale. Із 192 ton of nuclear fuel, що були у реакторі блока, about 4 percent got into the air during 10 днів. Taking into account the decay, the total release of radioactive substances was 50 million curies. Ukraine felt the worst consequences of the disaster. Також, neighboring countries were also affected: Belarus, Russia. A powerful cyclone spread radioactive substances across the territory of Lithuania, of Latvia, Польщі, Швеції, Norway, of Austria, Фінляндії, Great Britain, Germany, of the Netherlands, Бельгії.

First, who engaged in mortal combat with the atomic element, became firefighters. Among them are firefighters from Chernihiv Oblast. A regional combined fire service unit was created, which included the personnel of the Department of Fire Protection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Chernihiv region, fire departments of Chernihiv, Ніжина, Pryluk and most districts of the region and fire departments for the protection of Prylutsky oil fields, Varvinsky, Talalaiv districts. The soldiers of the detachment carried out the decontamination of the square for the future laying of the foundation of the sarcophagus, a latex film was applied to the walls and roof of the 3rd, 4-th blocks, protected against fires and eliminated them in case of occurrence, radioactive soil was removed, neutralized the "red forest".

Aviation was involved in the work to eliminate the consequences of the accident. In the early days, an aviation group was created, to which the management of the Central State Administration of Ukraine was operatively subordinated. Almost a hundred helicopters were based at the school's airfields, there, at first, special processing of rotorcraft and their crews was carried out. The largest number of sorties was carried out for backfilling of the embankment - 1804 take off. Other works were dangerous, somehow: thermal and radiation reconnaissance of the reactor, decontamination, hanging loads, flight guidance.

A huge amount of work to eliminate the consequences of the accident was performed by military personnel, among them soldiers of the 1st Guards Army, частини якої дислокувались у Чернігівській області. Overall average 600 thousands of participants in the elimination of consequences - 300 thousands, were military personnel. They did the work, associated with the destroyed reactor, polluted areas, дезактивацією будівель, санітарною обробкою населення та тварин, fencing of the thirty-kilometer exclusion zone, burying equipment affected by radiation in burial grounds.

As a result of the hard work of thousands of people in December 1986 Dr.. above the 4th power unit, in almost six months, the "Shelter" facility was built, the so-called "Sarcophagus". But the work did not end for a long time near the power units of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and in the thirty-kilometer contamination zone.

Do 2006 р., 20-on the anniversary of the completion of the construction of the Sarcophagus, the President of Ukraine V. Yushchenko signed the Decree on the Day of Commemoration of Liquidators of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident 14 December. Over time, the question arose about the reliability of the old shelter. The world community did not just observe the events around Chernobyl, but also joined in the construction of a new modern shelter - confinement.

Above the old sarcophagus in 2016 Dr.. brought up, and in July 2019 Dr.. put into operation the new "Shelter", calculated on 100 years - confinement. This is a grandiose building in width 257 м, in length 150 м, height 108 м. The weight of the structure is more than 36 thousands of tons.

The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine posed many new challenges for the state as well, and experts in the nuclear field security. 24 February 2022 In 2008, the Russian military took control of the site and the Chernobyl station itself. 150 employees of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and almost as many military personnel of the NSU, who guarded the station, became hostages. Later, the soldiers were sent to Russian prisons. Station staff, who stepped in on duty instead 12 stayed for hours 600 hours. Strenuous work under machine guns... Today , this is probably how Zaporizhia NPP employees feel, occupied by Russian troops. Safety of nuclear reactors, of nuclear power plants is extremely relevant in today's reality.

When the new protective facility "Shelter" was being built, engineers could not even imagine, that there will be madmen, which will use weapons against a nuclear facility. 14 February 2025 Dr.. Russian Geran-2 attack drone ("Shahed-136") damaged the protective outer layer of the shield, broken tightness, laid down by the project. Now the structure is threatened by corrosion, and as a consequence – the probability of destruction. The steel giant of Chernobyl could not withstand the barbaric attack. Chornobyl's bell once again reminds humanity: from carefree to universal disaster can be a moment, one strike from a missile or a relatively inexpensive combat drone.

And already a new generation is forced to look for ways and means of securing a "peaceful atom", that at one time got out of control. So it's a tragedy, which happened in April 1986, it's not just a story, it continues to the present time and will have its continuation in the future.

Today we honor all liquidators of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, we say words of gratitude to all veterans: military and civilian, which starting from the first minutes, risking and giving their lives, they made sacrifices, to tame the "peaceful atom", that got out of control.

Svitlana Zemlyanska, senior researcher