On the anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Slavutych and thanked everyone "who defended lives 38 years ago and those who confronted the enemy in 2022." The President's words were quoted by UNN with reference to the President's press service.
People stood up to defend life and fulfilled their duty - everyone who was involved. Our real people stopped the fire at the Chornobyl station. They saved three power units of the Chornobyl NPP. They decontaminated the territory. They built a sarcophagus that covered what was left after the explosion at the fourth reactor. A system was built to monitor and control the situation at the plant and in the Chornobyl zone. Behind every such action there are thousands of heroes, thousands of brave characters. Thousands of people. These are the people who saved millions of others. Not only we in Ukraine, but all of humanity must always remember this and always honor all those who put their lives and health on the line between the disaster and the life of our country and the world.
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The audience honored the fallen liquidators of the Chornobyl disaster with a minute of silence. Afterward, the President thanked the residents of Slavutych who proved themselves in the spring of '22 and helped Ukraine resist the Russian invaders.
I want to thank all those who defended lives 38 years ago! And I want to thank each and every one of you who stood up to the enemy in '22!
At the end of his speech, the President drew attention to the relatives of the captured defenders present and assured them that the state would fight not only for the territory, but also for people, including the return of all prisoners home.
I see relatives and friends of the prisoners here. We have brought some of them back home. I want you to know, I want you to hear us - we are here. We will definitely return everything. Not only our territory, but first of all our people, all our prisoners: both military and civilians, our Armed Forces soldiers and our National Guard. We remember everyone. We will definitely do so.