Today is 35 years since the Chernobyl disaster

Today, April 26, is the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

This event, which was later called the tragedy of the twentieth century, became the greatest man-made disaster. The explosion at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant released an enormous amount of radioactive substances into the environment. The force of the explosion was equal to 500 bombs that were once dropped on Hiroshima.

Strong radioactive radiation struck the area within a radius of 30 kilometers from the scene. However, the scale of the accident was much larger. Besides the Ukrainian settlements affected by the catastrophe, the villages of 19 regions of Russia, with almost 3 million population, were exposed to radiation pollution. Radiation also spread rapidly in some parts of Belarus and reached Europe.

Residents of the surrounding regions learned about the Chernobyl accident only a few days later. The country began an active accumulation of forces to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Then not only specialized fire forces but also civilians were forced to extinguish the fire. During these works, many people took lethal doses of radiation. In the 2000s, the world community joined forces to solve the "Chernobyl problem."

Today's event program includes the traditional laying of flowers and wreaths at the places of honoring the liquidators, holding several art events, round tables, and conferences.

Also, this night in Pripyat, 35 candles were lit in memory of the Chernobyl disaster, according to the number of years that have passed since the accident. This is part of the initiative, designed to symbolically show Chernobyl's role in the national context.

The Expocentre of Ukraine in Kyiv will also host the multimedia exhibition "Chernobyl. Journey"–a story about the catastrophe from the 1986  world context to the stories of people whose destinies are inextricably linked to the events of April 26, 1986, as well as dialogue on the future of Chernobyl.

The exhibition will be open to visitors after strict quarantine.

It's expected that the state leadership will traditionally honor the participants of the damage control and recovery of the Chernobyl accident consequences near the memorial to the "Chernobyl Soldiers" and the memorial mound "To the Heroes of Chernobyl" in Kyiv.