Story perspectives

600 Workers Clean Chernobyl Amid Russian Missile Threat

4/26/2026

Center

Chernobyl Workers Cleanup

Around 600 personnel daily traverse the Chernobyl exclusion zone, continuing cleanup slated to extend into the 2060s.
Ukrainian officials warned that Russian missile flights near Chernobyl could cause a major accident as the 40th anniversary approaches.
The 1986 explosion released radiation about 500 times that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.
Photographer Pierpaolo Mittica has recorded the zone for over two decades, showing wildlife returning.

Left

Ukrainian Officials Warn

Ukrainian officials warned that Russian missile flights near Chernobyl could spark a major accident ahead of the 40th anniversary.
A Russian drone strike in February 2025 punched a 15-square-metre hole in the New Safe Confinement, compromising radiation containment.
The breach may cut the structure’s 100-year lifespan, raising collapse risk and possible radioactive release.
Survivors Olga Mikhalova and Natalia Dykun say renewed danger revives 1986 trauma and child fears.

History

Historical Context

On 26 April 1986 reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, releasing radiation roughly 400 times the amount of the Hiroshima bombs and prompting the Soviet-built sarcophagus and, later, the 2016 New Safe Confinement. Ukrainian officials now warn that Russian missile flights and a February 2025 drone strike damaging that confinement could jeopardize the barrier, risking renewed evacuation and safety reviews by the IAEA.

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Chernobyl Workers Cleanup

Around 600 personnel daily traverse the Chernobyl exclusion zone, continuing cleanup slated to extend into the 2060s.
Ukrainian officials warned that Russian missile flights near Chernobyl could cause a major accident as the 40th anniversary approaches.
The 1986 explosion released radiation about 500 times that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.
Photographer Pierpaolo Mittica has recorded the zone for over two decades, showing wildlife returning.

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