Forests wheeze with a cold, like bronchial tubes.
There is silence in the Zone. Grave silence.
Only a military ghost of the era
"Chernobyl-2" floated over the forest.
Lina Kostenko
On April 26, Ukraine, like the entire civilized world, celebrates the International Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl Disaster and the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Radiation Accidents and Disasters — the anniversary of the largest man-made disaster in history.
It was on this day - April 26, 1986 - that two explosions and a fire occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as a result of which isotopes were thrown into the air, the total radiation of which was 30-40 times more than when the bomb exploded in Hiroshima in 1945.
This tragic incident also proved that all countries, whether they were directly concerned about it or not, were completely unprepared to deal with such a calamity.
Remembering these events, the day is designed to honor the memory of all those who suffered from radiation consequences, those who lost their health, their homes and their loved ones. Rescuers were the first to extinguish the fire. It is known that the liquidators of the accident were about 600 people — from nuclear workers, firefighters, and then the police to medics. Some of them, having been exposed to aggressive radiation, died in the first days or months after the accident. Others received ruined health and eerie memories.
If it were not for the feat of these people who risked their lives and health, saving us from the further spread of radiation, it is difficult to make a forecast of what consequences we could have today.
It would seem that such a man-made tragedy should be history that should never be repeated, but today the threat is once again visible.
The enemy that brought war to Ukrainian lands continues to use nuclear energy as a factor of influence. First — the seizure and damage of the Chornobyl NPP, now — the occupation, shelling, and manipulation of the Zaporizhia NPP with the periodic threat of blackout. For the enemy, this is not a terrible lesson from which conclusions must be drawn, but a "map" that can be used to manipulate the world.
That is why similar organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose task is to promote the ideas of peaceful use of nuclear energy in the world, should more carefully monitor how exactly the enemy is ready to manipulate atomic energy for their own purposes. And our task, like that of the whole world, is not to forget the terrible history of the Chernobyl disaster, the consequences of which will have to be fought for many years to come, and also to do everything possible so that man-made disasters never again threaten civilized society.
