Remarks by H.E. Dr. Andrii Melnyk, LL.M., Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ukraine 

at the opening of the exhibition “40^th Anniversary of the Chornobyl Disaster”

 

 

Dear Assistant Secretary General Shoko Noda,

Excellencies,

Distinguished colleagues, 

Ambassadors,

friends of Ukraine,

I am very delighted to see so many of you gathered here this early morning.

It is especially encouraging, given that New York has once again demonstrated its unique understanding of the word “spring,” meaning it may arrive, but never on schedule. As always here, it seems to come with a slight administrative delay.

And now it is offering far too many temptations to spend this morning outside the walls of our UN labyrinth and simply sit in the sun with a cup of cappuccino.

I am even more impressed that so many of you have chosen this early hour in the diplomatic calendar, even though this building usually so generously offers an almost unlimited choice of competing obligations, and meetings that somehow all claim to be “absolutely essential.”

So, thank you for making this one a priority. I truly appreciate it. The fact that you are here — and visibly awake, well, more or less — is already something I consider a diplomatic success story.

Dear guests,

Forty years have passed since the Chornobyl catastrophe, the worst man-made disaster in human history.

It was not just an accident. The Chornobyl tragedy was a direct consequence of a reckless experiment ordered by the top Soviet leadership in Moscow, an experiment that blatantly violated even the most basic safety standards.

This political decision triggered the uncontrolled reaction, the explosion, and the meltdown of the reactor core.

But the Soviet regime committed a double crime: it then tried to conceal the truth.

Instead of protecting people, Moscow hid the scale of this unprecedented disaster and withheld vital information even as radioactive clouds spread across borders.

Now, the question is very simple: does Chornobyl still matter in today’s increasingly chaotic and crazy world?

A world in which crises multiply before our eyes in geometric progression and even the most seasoned diplomats struggle to keep their bearings.

And yet, precisely now, it may be worth returning to the lessons of Chornobyl.

Because fundamentally it is about the risks of nuclear energy and the responsibility that must accompany its use.

Distinguished colleagues,

Let me read a few lines from the diary of Oles Honchar, one of the most famous modern Ukrainian writers.

On 29 April 1986, just three days after the Chornobyl accident, he made the following note — and I quote:

“A reactor at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant has exploded. Thousands of buses were rushed to the disaster site, without protective clothing for drivers or doctors — and they too are returning irradiated…

My God, why must yet another tragedy fall upon our people? After the destruction of our Ukrainian language, after the demolition of cultural monuments — now this Chornobyl Hiroshima is descending upon the children of Ukraine. The city is gripped by anxiety. Hospitals, they say, are already overcrowded. Yet the radio remains silent — cheerful music and lively songs continue to play.”

End quote.

On 1 May, 1986, Oles Honchar wrote — and I quote again:

“The beginning of the end. A prelude to the end of the world — this is how Chornobyl feels now. On Khreshchatyk Avenue a parade marches on. Slogans ring out energetically; everyone pretends that nothing has happened. Meanwhile, teams of people in spacesuit-like protective gear — like visitors from Mars — keep carrying more and more victims into hospitals.”

End quote.

Dear colleagues,

Holding May Day parade in Kyiv demonstrated a total disregard for human life, exposing millions of Ukrainians to deadly radiation.

Soviet authorities forced people in Kyiv to go into the streets to pretend that nothing had happened — instead of warning and evacuating them.

Many thousands — including schoolchildren — had to march through the city under invisible radiation.

Among those thousands of Ukrainian children was my wife Svitlana. She had to spend hours under the scorching sun.

Like millions of other Ukrainians, she continues to live with the health consequences.

Colleagues,

Let me remind you that the first public reaction of Gorbachev, the ruler of the Soviet empire, who four years later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, appeared on 14 May 1986, almost three weeks after the Chornobyl disaster.

May I quote from his official statement:

“One cannot leave without attention — or without political assessment — the way in which the events at Chornobyl were received by the governments, political figures, and mass media of certain NATO countries, particularly the United States. They unleashed an unrestrained anti-Soviet campaign.

In essence, we were confronted with an avalanche of lies — cynical, malicious, and utterly unscrupulous. The international community must understand what we were forced to face.

One must ask: what motivated this immoral campaign?

Its organizers were, of course, not interested in truthful information about the accident, nor in the fate of the people of Chornobyl, of Ukraine, of Belarus, or of any country affected. What they sought was merely a pretext to slander the Soviet Union and its foreign policy, to weaken the influence of Soviet initiatives aimed at halting nuclear tests and eliminating nuclear weapons, and at the same time to deflect criticism of the conduct of the United States on the international stage and its militaristic course.

Certain Western politicians pursued very specific objectives: to obstruct the normalization of international relations and to sow new seeds of distrust and suspicion toward the socialist countries.”

End quote. Not a single word about the real dangers for the population.

Dear colleagues,

I don’t know about you, but I have a certain sense of déjà vu — as if we had just heard yet another statement by our Russian colleague in the Security Council.

They must have the same speechwriters in Moscow producing the same narratives forty years later, concealing and denying the truth.

Today, Russia continues the same vicious game, playing with fire — nuclear fire.

For the first time in history, one country has illegally occupied a nuclear power plant using armed forces.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest in Europe, has been held hostage, terrorizing not just Ukraine but the entire international community.

This blackmail must end. Russia has to return the NPP to Ukraine immediately and unconditionally to ensure its safety in accordance with IAEA standards.

This is yet another lesson we can learn today from the Chornobyl legacy.

The international community has to finally introduce severe sanctions against Russia’s nuclear energy industry.

Dear colleagues,

It is my privilege to open this exhibition of historical and contemporary images from the immediate aftermath of the Chornobyl disaster, including the dramatic evacuation of the city of Prypyat.

It allows us to reflect on the scale of the tragedy, its immense human and environmental consequences, and the extraordinary work undertaken to mitigate its impact.

This exhibition also serves as a reminder that nuclear safety can never be taken for granted.

Notwithstanding the ongoing threats, Ukraine continues to transform the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone into a space of recovery, innovation, and sustainable development.

We remain committed to working closely with all partners to address the long-term consequences of the disaster, environmental protection and the sustainable development of the Exclusion Zone.

The UN has always played a special role in this context over the last decades, and we hope that our cooperation will continue.

It is therefore my special honor to invite Ms. Shoko Noda, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Crisis Bureau.

Dear Ms. Noda, the floor is yours.

Thank you for your attention.