Chernobyl Liquidators Return to Mark 40th Anniversary of World's Worst Nuclear Accident
Former firefighters and decontamination workers revisit Pripyat and New Safe Confinement as Ukraine commemorates disaster during ongoing war
Hızlı Bakış
- A group of Chernobyl liquidators returned to the exclusion zone in 2026 to mark the 40th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident.
- The visitors, including former firefighter Stanislav Tolumnyi, toured Pripyat and the New Safe Confinement structure covering the damaged fourth reactor.
- Around 600,000 people were mobilised across the Soviet Union after the April 26, 1986 explosion, many exposed to high radiation while building containment structures and clearing debris.
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The Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986 is considered the world's worst nuclear accident by scale and consequences. The explosion released 400 times more radiation than the Hiroshima bomb. The New Safe Confinement structure, completed in 2017, covers the damaged reactor to contain radiation.
The group visited key locations including the abandoned city of Pripyat, once home to about 50,000 people, and the New Safe Confinement structure covering the damaged fourth reactor. The commemoration highlights the lasting impact of the world's worst nuclear accident by scale and consequences. Known as "liquidators", around 600,000 people were mobilised across the Soviet Union after the explosion on 26 April 1986. Many were exposed to high levels of radiation while building containment structures and clearing debris, leading to long-term health problems. Several of those returning in 2026 came from the Poltava region and worked on decontamination between 1987 and 1988. Former firefighter Stanislav Tolumnyi said the experience shaped his life and remains central to his identity. The disaster forced the evacuation of more than 116,000 residents and led to the creation of a 30 km exclusion zone that remains largely uninhabitable. Today, memorials and preserved sites reflect the scale of the catastrophe. As Ukraine marks the anniversary during an ongoing war, officials stress the need to remember those who responded, drawing a link between past and present resilience.
Açık Sorular
- How many liquidators have died from radiation-related illnesses?
- What is the current radiation level in the exclusion zone?
- How has the war affected the Chernobyl site?
