Chornobyl at 40: Ukrainian Community Tameside commemorates anniversary

The Ukrainian community in Tameside, led by the local Branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), marked the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster on 26 April 2026.



The Chornobyl catastrophe remains one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, claiming thousands of lives and leaving a lasting environmental and human impact across Ukraine and Europe. The community will honour the memory of the victims and pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the Chornobyl liquidators, who risked and gave their lives to prevent an even greater tragedy.



To mark the anniversary, a commemoration took place at the Ukrainian Centre on Sunday 26th April 2026. A short presentation was given by branch committee member Nataliia Zubarieva giving an overview and reminder of what happened 40 years ago and how then Soviet authorities tried to keep the disaster under wraps. It was only days later did they fully admit what had happened. Back then the local Ukrainian Community helped by sending urgently needed medical equipment a medicines kindly donated by Tameside and The Christie Hospital, items they no longer needed or were no longer being used. In 1994 a group of children affected by the disaster were invited by Ukrainian Community in Tameside to spend two weeks in the UK. The commemoration ended with a minutes silence remembering those who gave their lives to save others.

Speaking on behalf of the AUGB Branch, Petro Rewko said:
“Forty years on, Chornobyl remains a powerful reminder of the human cost of nuclear disaster and the importance of truth, accountability and environmental responsibility. Today, as Ukraine faces continuing Russian aggression, these lessons are more relevant than ever.”



"The anniversary comes at a time when Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine continues to cause human suffering. It’s attacks on civilian infrastructure risk the safety of nuclear installations and have caused untold damage to agricultural land and the environment".