Conference in Naples: Italians were reminded of the Chornobyl tragedy
On 13 April, a conference was held at Naples City Hall to mark the 40th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant — a tragedy that forever altered the course of history and served as a warning to all of humanity. According to the Consulate General of Ukraine in Naples, the event was attended by those who helped deal with the aftermath of the disaster — Dr Volodymyr Yuriyovych Chartorinsky and an active participant in the Chernobyl movement, retired Ukrainian Armed Forces Colonel Serhiy Yaroslavovych Vashchuk. The disaster response workers shared their accounts of the unprecedented threat humanity faced as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. It was thanks to the courage, self-sacrifice and high professionalism of the response workers that an even larger-scale nuclear disaster was averted, the consequences of which could have had a devastating impact on the entire European continent. Maksym Kovalenko, Consul General of Ukraine in Naples, noted that humanity must remember this terrible tragedy and make every effort to prevent similar disasters now and in the future. After all, Russian aggression against Ukraine — in particular the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and drone attacks on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant — poses a threat of new disasters that know no borders. In turn, Vincenzo Santagata, Deputy Mayor of Naples, expressed his deep solidarity with the Ukrainian people and assured them of continued comprehensive support. Drawing on his medical experience, he highlighted the lethal effects of radioactive isotopes released during accidents at nuclear facilities, emphasising the seriousness of such threats to human life and health. “The Consulate General of Ukraine in Naples is sincerely grateful to the people of Italy, in particular to our Neapolitan friends, who for a long time have been hosting Ukrainian children affected by the accident for rehabilitation,” reads a statement from the consulate on Facebook. Naples continues to actively assist Ukraine today. In particular, the Naples Pharmacists’ Association, chaired by Vincenzo Santagata, regularly donates medicines as humanitarian aid to Ukrainian medical facilities. Meanwhile, the Naples Bar Association, together with the company ‘Capri Campus’ and in cooperation with the State Emergency Service of the Kyiv region, is participating in the safety monitoring of the airspace around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant using special drones and probes. It should be recalled that the Chernobyl disaster — one of the largest man-made accidents in human history — occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. An explosion at the fourth reactor led to a massive release of radioactive substances. As a result of the accident, hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated, and large areas of Ukraine and other countries were contaminated by radioactivity.
