The Chornobyl disaster released hundreds of times more radioactive material into the environment than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
At 1:23 AM on April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded—triggering the worst nuclear disaster in human history. But this was no mere accident: it was the result of a recklessness of Soviet Union, followed by a state-wide cover-up that exposed millions to lethal radiation.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the Soviet Union that warned the world—it was Sweden instead. Only after foreign radiation detectors went off did the Kremlin admit anything had happened. By then, radioactive fallout spread across Europe, and Ukraine’s hospitals filled with patients, suffering from radiation sickness.
Nearly four decades later, the legacy of Chornobyl haunts us—not just as history, but as a present danger.
Caption: People lay flowers near a monument honoring those who died in clean-up efforts after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, on the occasion of its 39th anniversary, in Kyiv, Ukraine, 26 April 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EFE/EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
In 2022, Russia occupied the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in the first days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, beginning of a campaign of nuclear blackmail. Ukrainian staff risked their lives to prevent another world disaster. Then Russia moved on to the seizure of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant—the largest in Europe—where Russian forces have militarised the site, shelled its infrastructure, and replaced trained staff with unqualified personnel. By occupying the Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plants, Russia breached every core principle of nuclear safety and security set by the IAEA. No nation has the authority to hold the world hostage under the shadow of a potential radiation disaster.
On February 13, 2025, Russia even launched a drone strike on Chornobyl’s protective confinement structure. These aren’t isolated incidents—they are part of a sustained campaign of nuclear terror.
Like the USSR in 1986, Putin’s Russia silences truth, spreads disinformation, and endangers millions. It learned nothing from Chornobyl.
Ukraine’s full control over its nuclear facilities is not just a national security matter—it is a global imperative. Nuclear safety and peace demand accountability. Russia’s occupation must end. The world cannot afford to repeat history.
