April 26 – International Chornobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
26 April became a day of mourning for Ukrainians, marking a turning point that forever changed the fate of millions of people. The explosion at the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant turned an ordinary spring day into the beginning of the largest man-made disaster of the twentieth century.
We were among the first to respond. Even before the full scale of the disaster was known, the Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers were already at work. On the evening of 26 April 1986, when news of the explosion at the nuclear power plant had not yet spread widely, the Red Cross sanitary squad from the Borodianka Excavator Plant provided shelter to the first dozen residents of Prypiat, who had arrived there without waiting for evacuation.
In the following days, representatives of the Ukrainian Red Cross worked to assess the extent of the damage and determine the level of assistance required. They assisted in the evacuation and resettlement of people, providing both humanitarian and financial aid. In collaboration with village council representatives, the Red Cross sanitary squads in the Makariv district of the Kyiv region conducted door-to-door visits to find temporary accommodation for those evacuated from Prypiat. The Ukrainian Red Cross also deployed 213 nurses to assist residents of the contaminated areas. In total, more than 10,000 volunteers were involved in the response effort.
In 1990, we launched the Chornobyl Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation Programme (CHARP), which lasted for 22 years and became the longest programme of its kind in the history of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Thanks to this initiative:
- 1.6 million people were screened for thyroid disorders.
- 720,000 children received vitamins, and 378,000 were provided with powdered milk to mitigate the effects of food restrictions.
- 500,000 people were educated on how to avoid radiation contamination.
- Thousands of citizens received psychological support.
Today, we remember all those who risked their lives to protect others. Their bravery will remain forever in our memory.