Ukrainians Hold Chernobyl Vigil in Slavutych as Russia’s War Continues

Ukrainians gathered in the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday to remember the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in 1986 and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath.

“Echoes of Chernobyl: A Vigil Amidst Turmoil Slavutych residents gathered in a central square to commemorate the Chernobyl disaster's victims, highlighting ongoing fears about nuclear risk amidst Ukraine's conflict with Russia”

Devdiscourse

The vigil continued despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings during Russia’s war on Ukraine, with residents showing up each year even as the city has endured a brief Russian occupation during Moscow’s failed push to seize the Ukrainian capital in early days of the war.

Devdiscourse

The April 26, 1986 disaster, which the South China Morning Post says was not reported by Soviet authorities for two days, only after winds carried fallout across Europe and Swedish experts went public, is being marked again under the shadow of renewed conflict.

The same reporting describes how about 600,000 people, often referred to as Chernobyl’s “liquidators,” were sent in to fight the fire at the nuclear plant and clean up the worst of its contamination.

It also notes that thirty workers died within months from either the explosion or acute radiation sickness, and that the accident exposed millions to dangerous levels of radiation and forced a wide-scale, permanent evacuation of hundreds of towns and villages in Ukraine and Belarus.

Slavutych, described as around 50 kilometres (32 miles) from the former plant, was built beginning in late 1986 to house workers from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and their families, with the first residents moving in around 1988.

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism” on Sunday as Ukraine marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster amid deadly new drone attacks.

In a social media post marking the anniversary, Zelensky said Russia, through its invasion, was “again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster,” and he highlighted how Russian drones regularly pass over Chernobyl and that one had hit its protective shell last year.

KPCNews

“The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks,” Zelensky added, linking the anniversary to ongoing strikes.

The Le Soir report similarly quotes Zelensky saying, “The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way to put an end to it is to compel Russia to halt its irresponsible attacks,” and it frames the remarks as coming after new Russian bombardments left at least three dead on Sunday.

The KPCNews report says the day’s drone attacks followed Moscow’s launch of more than a hundred drones overnight, describing the barrage as “one of the relentless barrages the country has faced almost nightly since the beginning of the war in 2022.”

It also says three people were killed across Ukraine after the overnight drone attacks, with Ukrainian officials reporting casualties in multiple regions.

Alongside the anniversary commemoration, Ukrainian officials reported deaths and injuries from drone and artillery attacks across the country.

“New Russian bombardments on Ukraine on Sunday left at least three dead, the day after particularly intense strikes, as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of 'nuclear terrorism' on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster”

Le Soir

KPCNews says “Russian strikes across Ukraine killed three people and wounded at least four others,” and it places the drone attack toll in the northeastern border region of Sumy, where a Russian drone attack killed two civilians, according to the head of Sumy’s regional military administration.

KPCNews quotes Oleg Grygorov saying the “enemy struck civilians in the territory of Bilopillia community -- near one of the settlements, less than five km from the state border with the Russian Federation,” and it adds that two men aged 48 and 72 were killed.

The same report says drone and artillery attacks in the central-eastern city of Dnipro killed one person and wounded four more, with Oleksandr Ganzha, the region’s military administration head, saying homes and vehicles were damaged.

It also reports that the Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired 144 drones overnight, of which 124 were downed.

KPCNews further adds that the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea said a man was killed in a vehicle during a Ukrainian drone attack that damaged several homes and a dance school in different neighbourhoods of the port city, and it says the governor claimed Russia shot down 43 drones in the attack.

Multiple reports tied the war to heightened nuclear safety concerns at Chernobyl, focusing on the protective structure and repeated drone activity near the site.

Samaa TV says Ukraine is marking the 40th anniversary under the shadow of war, with officials warning that Russia’s ongoing conflict could trigger new nuclear risks at the historic site, and it states the disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 and released large amounts of radioactive material across Europe after a reactor explosion.

South China Morning Post

It reports that the containment structure built in 2016 to secure the damaged reactor remains a key safeguard, but officials said a Russian drone strike in February 2025 punctured the protective arc’s seal and that repairs worth at least €500 million are needed to prevent long-term damage.

Samaa TV also says Ukrainian prosecutors told Reuters that radars detected at least 92 Russian drones flying within a five-kilometre radius of the Chornobyl shelter since mid-2024, and it adds that the plant remains under strict control and surveillance within a 2,600 sq km exclusion zone.

The Jerusalem Post similarly says the plant is about 100 km north of Kyiv and that Kyiv accuses Moscow of repeatedly sending missiles and drones on a flight path near the plant to attack Ukrainian cities, even damaging a critical protective shield in an attack last year.

It quotes Ukraine’s foreign ministry statement that “The Chornobyl disaster was the result of a reactor experiment ordered by Moscow, in violation of safety protocols, and followed by lies and cover-ups,” and it says “To this day, the world has to face consequences brought by a totalitarian system that subordinated truth and science to ideology and political power.”

The anniversary coverage diverged in emphasis, with some outlets foregrounding the vigil and wartime restrictions while others foregrounded the war’s nuclear-terror framing and the technical details of the shelter.

“Ukrainians gather to remember Chernobyl disaster despite Russia’s war The 1986 disaster shone a spotlight on lax safety standards and government secrecy in what was then the Soviet Union People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath”

South China Morning Post

The South China Morning Post described a “sea of flickering candles” in Slavutych’s central square and stressed that residents attend “despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings,” while also recounting how the 1986 disaster was not reported for two days and how about 600,000 “liquidators” were sent in.

The Jerusalem Post

Devdiscourse similarly described the vigil’s “solemn midnight” and said it “persists despite recent challenges, including wartime curfews,” while adding that the “war’s recent escalation further underscores these fears” and referencing “the 2025 drone attack on Chernobyl’s containment structure.”

By contrast, KPCNews and Le Soir centered Zelensky’s accusation of “nuclear terrorism” and linked it directly to the drone barrage, with KPCNews saying Russia launched “more than a hundred drones overnight” and Le Soir reporting that new Russian bombardments left at least three dead.

The Jerusalem Post and Samaa TV both focused on the protective shield and the scale of drone activity near the site, with the Jerusalem Post citing a February 2025 drone strike puncturing the hermetic seal and Samaa TV reporting that radars detected at least 92 Russian drones within a five-kilometre radius since mid-2024.

The Jerusalem Post also emphasized the plant’s operational status and staffing, saying “around 2,250 employees work in days-long shifts” and that “The plant's last reactor was shut down in 2000,” while the South China Morning Post instead emphasized Slavutych’s distance “around 50 kilometres (32 miles)” from the former plant and the city’s wartime occupation history.

The reports portray the immediate aftermath of the anniversary as a mix of continued wartime strikes and ongoing nuclear-risk management, with officials pointing to surveillance, repairs, and decommissioning work.

Samaa TV says the plant remains under strict control and surveillance and that around 2,250 workers continue rotating shifts to manage ongoing decommissioning work, while also stating that the plant’s last operational reactor was shut down in 2000.

It adds that National Guard units patrol the area to ensure security, and it describes the exclusion zone as 2,600 sq km, with nature reclaiming parts of the abandoned city of Prypiat and surrounding forests.

The Jerusalem Post similarly describes the plant as encircled by a 2,600-sq km exclusion zone, with National Guardsmen patrolling the facility where around 2,250 employees work in days-long shifts overseeing its gradual decommissioning.

In parallel with the long-term decommissioning and repair needs, the war’s near-term threat remains active: KPCNews reports that the Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 144 drones overnight, of which 124 were downed, and it details deaths in Sumy and Dnipro.

Zelensky’s remarks frame the next step as compelling Russia to stop attacks, with Le Soir quoting him saying the world must compel Russia to halt “irresponsible attacks,” and with KPCNews quoting him saying the best way is to force Russia to stop “reckless attacks.”