Today, on the Day of Honouring the Participants in the Liquidation of the Consequences of the Chornobyl Accident, commemorative events were held on the Chornobyl NPP site to honour the heroes who risked their lives to overcome the consequences of one of the largest man-made disasters in human history. This day, established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 10 November 2006, annually recalls the feat of the liquidators who in 1986 stood in the way of the radiation threat.
The accident at the Chornobyl NPP on 26 April 1986 led to the release of a massive amount of radioactive substances, which affected the health of millions of people and the environment in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and other European countries. Liquidators – firefighters, military personnel, engineers, and ordinary citizens – worked under conditions of extreme risk, constructing the “sarcophagus” over the destroyed reactor, decontaminating the territory, and evacuating the population. Many of them paid for this with their health or their lives.
Traditionally, several flower-laying ceremonies took place at the Chornobyl NPP at memorial sites dedicated to the liquidators of the accident. The first ceremony was held at the Chornobyl Heroes Memorial near the administrative building where flowers were laid by the management of the Chornobyl NPP and the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, representatives of government authorities, participants of the off-site meeting of the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Chornobyl Disaster Issues, as well as members of public organisations. The participants honoured the memory of the deceased with a minute of silence, emphasizing the importance of preserving the historical memory of the events of 1986.
The second ceremony took place at the memorial plaque of Valerii Khodymchuk, one of the first victims of the accident, who remains forever inside Unit 4. The plaque is located on the wall between Units 3 and 4. Representatives of the Chornobyl NPP operating personnel, who work at the facility on a daily basis, took part in the ceremony.
Commemorative events were also held in Slavutych, the town of residence for most of Chornobyl NPP employees and their families. As part of the events, flowers were laid at the Memorial of Remembrance with the participation of the town leadership, the trade union committee, and representatives of the Chornobyl NPP.
«On the Day of the Liquidator, we honour the unbreakable heroism of our people. At a time when equipment failed under the influence of radiation, people stood firm and, at the cost of their own health and lives, stopped a global catastrophe» noted Serhii Tarakanov, Director General of the Chornobyl NPP.
In addition, at the Chornobyl NPP site, employees of the plant were awarded Letters of Appreciation from the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management and Honorary Certificates of the Chornobyl NPP for their contribution to ensuring safety at the plant and in the Exclusion Zone. These awards emphasize that the work to overcome the consequences of Chornobyl continues to this day.
