Ukraine Marks 40 Years Of Chornobyl As Renewed Nuclear Fears Grow From Russia War
Ukraine marks 40 years since Chornobyl as war with Russia revives fears of nuclear catastrophe across Europe.
Ukraine marks 40 years since Chornobyl as war with Russia revives fears of nuclear catastrophe across Europe.
Ukraine on Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, with sombre commemorations overshadowed by growing fears that Russia’s ongoing war could trigger a new nuclear catastrophe on European soil.
The anniversary of the 1986 explosion at the Soviet-built Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant—located near the abandoned city of Prypiat—comes as Kyiv warns that repeated Russian military activity near nuclear sites is increasing the risk of a major accident.
The original disaster on April 26, 1986, saw reactor four explode and melt down, releasing radioactive material across large parts of Europe after Soviet authorities attempted to conceal the scale of the incident.
Hundreds of thousands were evacuated, vast areas of land were contaminated, and millions were exposed to radiation. The long-term death toll remains disputed, though radiation-related illnesses, including cancer, have been widely reported among survivors and clean-up workers.
During Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian officials say Moscow has repeatedly launched missiles and drones along trajectories close to nuclear facilities, including Chornobyl. Kyiv also claims a critical protective structure covering the destroyed reactor was damaged in a strike last year.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the risks remain acute due to continued Russian pressure on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities.
“Right now, the risks are no less great because of what Russia is doing with our Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, and in general with our energy and our land,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv.
Russian forces currently occupy the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear facility. Ukraine’s state nuclear agency said the plant experienced its 15th temporary blackout since Russian troops seized it in March 2022.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, speaking in Kyiv, called for urgent action on damaged nuclear infrastructure.
“Repairs should start as soon as possible,” Grossi said.
Ukraine’s top prosecutor said radar data showed at least 92 Russian drones had flown within a five-kilometre radius of the Chornobyl containment structure since June 2024.
In February 2025, a Russian drone strike punctured the massive containment arch installed in 2016 over the damaged reactor to prevent radioactive leakage from the original 1986 sarcophagus. Although no radiation leaks were recorded, authorities confirmed the structure requires extensive repairs estimated at over €500 million, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Commemorations took place across Ukraine, including at the Chornobyl site itself and in Kyiv, where President Zelenskiy lit a candle alongside visiting Moldovan President Maia Sandu and other officials. Foreign dignitaries, including the EU energy commissioner, also attended events and pledged continued support for Ukraine’s energy sector, which is frequently targeted by Russian strikes.
Nuclear energy now accounts for around 70% of Ukraine’s electricity generation, according to state-owned operator Energoatom, making its nuclear infrastructure central to national energy security during wartime.
At the memorial events, survivors and clean-up workers recalled the aftermath of the 1986 disaster and alleged Soviet-era attempts to conceal its severity.
Serhii Balashov, who worked on the Chornobyl clean-up operation, said authorities failed to acknowledge the health impact on workers.
“They didn’t even acknowledge the link between our illnesses and being in Chornobyl for the clean-up,” he said.
Pope Leo, in a message marking the anniversary, said the disaster had left a lasting moral lesson for humanity.
He said Chornobyl had left “a mark on humankind’s collective conscience” and urged that nuclear energy “always be used to support life and peace”.
Today, the Chornobyl exclusion zone—covering roughly 2,600 square kilometres north of Kyiv—remains largely uninhabited. The plant, briefly occupied by Russian forces in the early weeks of the invasion, is now managed by Ukrainian personnel working in rotating shifts to oversee its long-term decommissioning. Its final reactor was shut down in 2000.
Inside the facility, the control room for reactor four remains frozen in time, filled with rusted Soviet-era machinery. Outside, nature has reclaimed much of the area, with wildlife such as moose and wild horses roaming the abandoned landscape.
Despite the passage of four decades, officials warn that the legacy of Chornobyl is once again being shaped by conflict—this time not as a historical memory, but as a present and evolving risk.
