Tuesday 26 April 2022 marks the 36-year anniversary of one of the most significant events in the history of Ukraine and all of Europe: the nuclear disaster at Chornobyl (previously known as Chernobyl). On that day in 1986, a routine safety test at reactor 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant resulted in an explosion and nuclear chain reaction that obliterated the nuclear core and reactor site, causing a colossal release of radioactive contamination into the surrounding area. Today, 36 years later, ordinary Ukrainians face yet another horrifying threat: the illegal war waged by the Kremlin, which has also seen other nuclear power plants in Ukraine come under military threat.
This collection of pictures tell a story of suffering from the consequences of decisions on energy and violence taken by the Soviet government of the time and the present-day Russian government, decades apart.