The following statement was released by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America on April 26.
On April 26, 1986, a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude occurred at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. At 1:23 a.m., an explosion at the plant blew the concrete roof off reactor No. 4 spewing huge amounts of toxic radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Other than immediate attempts by Chornobyl workers to put out the fire caused by the explosion, there was no official government reaction to this catastrophe – no announcements were made, no warnings given – nothing that showed the slightest concern for the population of Ukraine, or for the global community in general.