Dozens of people gathered in the central square of Slavutych, Ukraine, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, donning hazmat suits and placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol. The annual vigil took place despite ongoing wartime curfews in the country.
Commemorating the Victims
Residents of all ages, some carrying spring tulips and daffodils, lined up in a broad plaza framed by Soviet-era apartment blocks. A memorial stands nearby, alongside posters honoring residents killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. The April 26, 1986, disaster highlighted lax safety standards and government secrecy in the former Soviet Union. The explosion was not reported for two days, until winds carried fallout across Europe and Swedish experts raised concerns.
The Liquidators' Sacrifice
About 600,000 people, known as Chornobyl's 'liquidators,' were sent to fight the fire and clean up contamination. Participants in the vigil, dressed in white protective suits and face masks, stood in silence holding candles, symbolizing these workers. Thirty workers died within months from the explosion or acute radiation sickness. The accident exposed millions to dangerous radiation, forcing permanent evacuation of hundreds of towns in Ukraine and Belarus.
Slavutych: A City Born from Disaster
Slavutych, located about 32 miles from the former plant, was built in late 1986 to house Chernobyl workers and their families, with first residents moving in around 1988. Larysa Panova, 67, who regularly visited her hometown of Chernobyl before the war, said, 'I never stop thinking of Chernobyl as my homeland. You remember your school, your childhood, your youth – everything happened there, in Chernobyl.'
War Adds to the Pain
Since Russia's full-scale invasion, Slavutych endured a brief occupation and harsh winters with blackouts forcing residents to cook over open fires. A woman at the memorial remarked, 'Years pass, generations change, but the pain of Chernobyl does not fade.'
