President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "nuclear terrorism" today, as Ukraine marked the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster amid deadly new drone attacks.
Five people were killed across Ukraine after Moscow launched more than 100 drones overnight, the latest in an almost nightly barrage the country has faced since the beginning of the war in 2022.
In a social media post marking the Chornobyl anniversary, Zelensky said Russia's invasion was "again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster".
He highlighted how Russian drones regularly pass over Chornobyl and that one had hit its protective shell last year.
"The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks," he added.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and Moldovan President Maia Sandu joined the commemorative events.
Commenting on damage to the shell, which the environment group Greenpeace says raises the risk of a radioactive leak, Mr Grossi said that "repairs should start as soon as possible and that leaving the situation as it is now is problematic."
Any repairs to the massive metal outer structure, which may potentially take up to four years, are virtually impossible due to Russia's invasion, according to Greenpeace.
Worst nuclear accident
Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, the successor of the Soviet atomic energy ministry, which managed the facility, said: "To remember Chornobyl means to remember the people who bore the brunt of the disaster, and to take that experience into account in every decision we make today, to prevent a similar catastrophe."
Rosatom took over the nuclear power plant in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Europe's biggest civilian nuclear power complex, after it was occupied by Russia early in the invasion. The plant is now in shutdown mode.
But Moscow and Kyiv repeatedly accuse each other of targeting the plant during the conflict, and Ukraine has called for sanctions against Rosatom.
Including Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine has four nuclear power plants, which are vital for the country's power supplies amid constant blackouts caused by relentless Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
The 1986 explosion at Chornobyl was the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history and changed global perceptions of atomic energy.
Thousands are estimated to have died as a result of exposure to the radiation, though assessments of the precise human toll vary. Some 600,000 people involved in the clean-up operation - known as "liquidators" - were exposed to high levels of radiation.
Hundreds of thousands more were evacuated due to the radioactive contamination. The zone around the plant has become an exclusion zone, with abandoned towns, fields and forests.
In total, the disaster made large swathes of land in northern Ukraine and southern Belarus effectively uninhabitable.
'Pain of Chornobyl deepened by the ongoing war' - Taoiseach
Ireland stands "shoulder to shoulder" with the survivors of the Chornobyl Disaster, Taoiseach Michael Martin told a gathering in Cork, to mark the 40th anniversary of the world's most serious nuclear power accident.
Mr Martin said today's ceremony was not only to remember a tragedy that changed the course of countless lives, but "also to honour the extraordinary courage and resilience of those who have endured its legacy".
"The pain of Chornobyl is deepened by the ongoing war in Ukraine, reminding us that the struggle for dignity, safety, and hope, is far from over", he said.
"Ireland stands shoulder to shoulder with the survivors, the heroic liquidators, and all those still suffering - both from the consequences of the disaster and the horrors of conflict", he told the gathering, which included the Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland, Larysa Gerasko and the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Fergal Dennehy.
The annual service in Bishop Lucey Park is organised by the charity The Greater Chornobyl Cause, in conjunction with Cork City Council.
The service included ecumenical prayers, a roll-call of victims, and the Ukrainian national anthem performed by Goggins Hill National School and the Ukrainian community.
The charity's founder Fiona Corcoran said that as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year "the resilience and dignity of the survivors continues to inspire us, even in the face of unimaginable hardship.
"Our annual service is a solemn promise that their story will never be forgotten, and that Ireland stands with them - today and always".
Overnight strikes
Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone barrages ahead of the anniversary events, causing civilian deaths in both countries.
Russian night-time strikes across Ukraine killed five people and wounded at least four others in the east, Ukrainian officials said.
In Russian-occupied Crimea and the Lugansk region, four people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes, said local Moscow-backed authorities.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a 20-hour Russian barrage Saturday on Ukraine's central-eastern city of Dnipro rose to nine, authorities said.
Diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II are at a standstill with US mediation efforts diverted by the outbreak of the Middle East war in February.
Read more: 40 years after the disaster, Chornobyl remains at risk
Additional reporting: Jennie O'Sullivan
