In Vitebsk, the victims of the Chernobyl NPP accident were honored
The tragedy occurred in Ukraine, but it did not bypass Belarus. The country suffered heavy losses, and many settlements were evacuated. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the authorities of the sovereign republic spent huge sums of money on the recovery of the victims and the cleanup of contaminated lands.
Vitebsk region made its contribution to the fight against the consequences of the accident. About 3,000 residents of the region worked at the explosion site, and over 1,500 displaced persons found shelter and work in our region.
— Chernobyl became a synonym for grief and death for the whole world, and especially for Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Russians. We are still experiencing its consequences. Therefore, every year we pay tribute to those who protected us from this threat and minimized its consequences. In addition, I would like to remind about the families who were forced to move and start their lives literally from scratch in a new place, — said Vladimir Terentyev, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies. — Today we have gathered at the monument to the police officers who died not by chance. In those years, the fire service, whose employees were among the first to arrive to eliminate the accident, was part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system.
From the very first days, law enforcement officers of Vitebsk region were involved in containing the accident at the Chernobyl NPP.
— After the accident in Pripyat, an emergency situation, as in wartime, was introduced in Chernobyl and the surrounding territories. Rescuers, police officers, military personnel, specialists from various departments, sacrificing their health and lives, did everything possible from the first days to protect their compatriots and the country from even greater damage, — noted retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Internal Service Sergey Artyukhovsky. — I, like many other members of dozens of consolidated detachments of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Executive Committee, ended up at the scene of the emergency in mid-1986. I was mainly involved in the evacuation of the population from the contaminated areas. Many did not understand why they had to leave their native places, leave their livestock and homes. I had to explain and persuade, and also guard the abandoned dwellings and property from looters.
Sergey Leonidovich is also confident that the selfless work of the liquidators saved the lives of tens of thousands of people who were evacuated from the danger zone in the shortest possible time.
The explosion at the nuclear power plant occurred at night on April 26, 1986, due to fatal errors during testing. The IAEA assigned the Chernobyl accident the highest level of nuclear events — 7 points.