Remembering Chernobyl: Roundtable on the 39th Anniversary of the Disaster

This was not just an educational event. It was a conversation about our history, our truth, and our responsibility. We didn’t just remember Chernobyl. We also talked about the Kyshtym disaster, which remained a forbidden topic for decades. About the accident in Kurenivka, where thousands of victims were depersonalized by Soviet censorship. About the closed and poisoned factories that the USSR left on our land – from villages near the Dnieper to the industrial ruins of Donbas. About the radioactive dumps that still smolder under Ukrainian soil, without proper supervision. All these tragedies are part of the colonial legacy of the empire of lies and silence.

But today we are different. We are a people who are not afraid to speak the truth.

The words about the current occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, a nuclear facility that has become a tool of blackmail by the Russian occupiers, were especially painful. We clearly understand: Russia's war against Ukraine is not just aggression, it is an attempt to destroy freedom, memory, and the nation.

The students spoke with pain, but also with pride. They analyzed the economic, legal, and environmental aspects of the accidents, assessed the actions of the authorities then and now, and, most importantly, emphasized the need for truth. Because only where there is truth is there life, there is a future.

Chernobyl is not just pain. It is a lesson. It is memory. It is our strength.