Ukraine’s Chernobyl ‘liquidators’ return 40 years after disaster
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.
