Thirty-five years ago, on April 26, 1986, the largest nuclear disaster in history took place at the Chornobyl nuclear plant near the city of Prypiat, Ukraine, contaminating Ukraine and three quarters of Europe.
The Chornobyl disaster exposed the Soviet government’s lack of openness to the Soviet people and the international community. Three days after the disaster, Soviet May Day parades in Moscow, Kyiv and Minsk were ordered to proceed, as usual, even though the Soviet leadership knew that hazardous amounts of radiation were streaming from the wrecked power plant. Most people were still unaware of the accident, the deaths, and the hasty evacuations of Prypiat.
At first, the Soviet leadership attempted to hide the disaster. But days later they were forced into admitting what happened after Stockholm registered unusually high radiation levels and demanded an explanation.
Winds carried the radioactive cloud over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. Today, international scientific agencies have projected 4,000 premature deaths as a result of the disaster
The Chornobyl catastrophe was a crime of the totalitarian communist regime that tried to hide the truth of their culpability. Today, the Russian Federation, the self-declared successor to the USSR, still refuses to acknowledge the mistakes of its predecessors, continuing to deny, falsify and distort historical facts thus prolonging the Soviet tradition of avoiding political responsibility.
The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) stands with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and calls for world condemnation of the crimes of the totalitarian communist regime that led to this irreparable tragedy.
The UNWLA joins with all Ukrainians across the globe in expressing condolences to the families who lost their loved ones and were forced to leave their homes and villages as a result of this tragedy.
Lydia Jachnycky
1st Vice President
Nadia Nynka
3rd Vice President for Public Relations
