April 26 is the Memorial Day for the victims of radiation accidents and catastrophes. This year marks 32 years since the Chernobyl disaster – the largest one in the history of nuclear energy in the world.

On December 7, 2003, the General Assembly of the United Nations supported the decision of the CIS Council of Heads of State on the proclamation of April 26 as the International Commemoration Day for Victims of Radiological Disasters and Catastrophes, and also called upon all UN member states to celebrate this International Day and to hold appropriate events within its framework. In December 2016, the Council proclaimed April 26 the International Commemoration Day for the Chernobyl disaster.

The scale of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster is significant for the environment, human health and development of society. As a result of the release of radionuclides into the environment, an unfavorable ecological situation has arisen on the territory of Ukraine, resulting in both external exposure of a multimillion population of people and long-term entry into the body of radioactive isotopes, which forms internal irradiation.

As a result of the Chernobyl disaster, about 5 million people were affected. Near 5,000 settlements of Ukraine, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation are located in the contaminated territories. In Ukraine the number of victims of the accident is 1.7 million people, including more than 300,000 children affected.