The world must remember that the crime and tragedy of Chornobyl were a direct result of the Kremlin’s irresponsible policies, which disregarded human life in the name of ideology.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said this in a statement marking the 39th anniversary of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster, Ukrinform reports.
“The catastrophe resulted from a risky experiment demanded by Moscow to satisfy its own ambitions, despite clear violations of basic safety protocols. Unacceptable manipulations with the reactor led to an uncontrolled reaction, explosion, and the meltdown of the reactor core. The Soviet regime committed a crime not only by causing the disaster but also by concealing the truth about it,” the ministry said.
It added that the Soviet authorities’ attempts to hide the scale of the tragedy resulted in millions of people being exposed to radiation. More than 145,000 square kilometers of territory, including 2,218 settlements in Ukraine, were contaminated with radionuclides. Radioactive contamination spread across dozens of European countries. Overall, nearly 5 million people were affected by the consequences of the catastrophe. The cumulative economic losses to Ukraine are estimated at tens of billions of U.S. dollars.
“Today, we honor the memory of the heroic liquidators who, at the cost of their own health and lives, contained the spread of radiation and prevented an even greater disaster. We express deep gratitude to the workers of the Chornobyl NPP and the Exclusion Zone who, in 2022, bravely maintained the critical infrastructure under conditions of Russian occupation,” the statement reads.
The ministry also recalled that in February 2025, Russia once again pushed the world to the brink of a new catastrophe by launching a drone strike on the protective infrastructure above the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chornobyl NPP. The attack damaged elements of both the external and internal shells of the New Safe Confinement (NSC), posing direct risks to the stability of the Shelter facility.
According to the statement, today’s Russia continues the same policies and methods – propaganda, disinformation, disregard for human life, international law, and global security.
The statement notes that restoring Ukraine’s full control over all nuclear facilities on its sovereign territory is an essential prerequisite for guaranteeing global nuclear security.
“We call upon the international community to intensify efforts to prevent similar threats in the future by upholding the principles of transparency, responsibility, and the rule of international law. On the anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy, we once again emphasize: the price of silence, cynicism, and impunity is too high. Only through joint actions can we stop Russian terror and prevent the recurrence of such tragedies,” the ministry said.
April 26, 2025 marks 39 years since the explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant – the most devastating technological disaster in human history.
Source: MFA on Chornobyl disaster anniversary: World must prevent recurrence of such tragedies
