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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took advantage of this Sunday, the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, to denounce Russian "nuclear terrorism" and warn that Russia's war is bringing the world "again to the brink of a man-made catastrophe."
In a message posted on his Facebook account, Zelenski recalled that on April 26, 1986, the number four reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, releasing a significant amount of radioactive material into the environment, and that "hundreds of thousands of people have been dealing with the consequences of that tragedy for years."
The Ukrainian leader denounced that Russian Shahed drones constantly fly over the old nuclear power plant, and that one of them crashed into the protective sarcophagus last year.
That attack occurred on February 14, 2025, when a Russian Shahed 136 drone struck the New Secure Confinement (NCS), the steel structure built between 2016 and 2019 at a cost of 2.1 billion euros with contributions from more than 40 countries, creating a hole six meters in diameter.
A UN inspection conducted in December 2025 confirmed that the NCS lost its primary safety functions, including containment capacity, and experts warn that a potential collapse of the shield would release approximately four tons of highly radioactive dust into Europe.
"The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way to achieve this is to force Russia to stop its senseless attacks," Zelensky emphasized.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, traveled to Kiev to mark the anniversary and demanded the urgent start of repairs: "We believe that repairs should begin as soon as possible, and leaving the situation as it is now is problematic."
The repairs for the NCS are estimated at 500 million euros, with a technical assessment projecting to restore its full functionality by 2030.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement describing the 1986 disaster as "the largest man-made disaster in the history of humanity" and drew a direct parallel between the Soviet cover-up of that time and Russia's current behavior.
"Chernobyl is not just a story of technical failure; it is a verdict on a Soviet system built on crimes and deliberate lies, a regime that current Russia is trying to revive," the ministry stated.
The statement recalled that the Soviet regime concealed the disaster from the world for at least two days and that on May 1, 1986, when radiation had already spread widely, thousands of people in Kiev were forced to participate in a public parade.
"Today, Moscow continues this tradition of deception, using nuclear facilities as tools of blackmail. Russia has not learned the lesson; instead, it has turned nuclear danger into a weapon," asserts the text.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine turned the nuclear zone into a war scene from day one: Russian troops occupied the Chernobyl power plant from February 24, 2022, until March 31 of that year, causing estimated damages of 100 million euros.
Russia also took control of the Zaporiyia nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, in March 2022, keeping it occupied to this day.
The European Union issued a warning last Saturday regarding the "relentless" Russian attacks on Ukrainian nuclear facilities, demanding that Russia immediately cease its actions and return control of Zaporiyia.
"Our call on this day is simple: it is time to put an end to nuclear blackmail. The international community must demonstrate that it has learned the lessons of 1986," concludes the statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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