Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today remembered the victims of the Chernobyl disaster that occurred 37 years ago .
«The 37th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the worst nuclear disaster in the history of mankind - Zelensky said -. We remember all those who struggled with the aftermath of the accident, all those whose lives were taken by Chernobyl. And we will not allow anyone to neglect the memory of this catastrophe, of its victims, of the heroes who gave their lives to fight it ".
"We must do everything to prevent the terrorist state from using nuclear power plants to blackmail Ukraine and the whole world," he added.
“Thirty-seven years ago the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant left a huge scar on the whole world. A radiation leak has turned a once welcoming and developed area into an exclusion zone. Today, the 30-kilometer zone around the Chernobyl NPP remains a dangerous place with a high concentration of radiation ,” Zelensky recalled.
«Last year the occupier not only seized the nuclear power plant, but also put the whole world at risk again. Ukraine and the whole world paid a high price for the elimination of the consequences of the disaster, which continues to this day».
The decommissioned plant, north of Kiev, is located near the border with Belarus and was captured by Russian troops on February 24, 2022, the first day of the invasion. Moscow forces occupied the plant for five weeks before withdrawing on March 31, 2022.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to blackmail Kiev and its allies into complying with Moscow's demands over safety concerns over radiation levels.
(Unioneonline/vl)