Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at Chernobyl exploded, triggering the worst nuclear disaster in history. Forty years later, the exclusion zone remains too radioactive for human life, and the catastrophe's impact continues to ripple across Europe and beyond. From the hundreds of thousands of so-called "liquidators" who risked their lives cleaning up the site, to the children evacuated from contaminated areas, to the anti-nuclear movements that reshaped energy policy — Chernobyl changed the world forever.
But the disaster isn't over. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine turned the exclusion zone into a war zone, with drone strikes threatening the protective containment structure and power outages endangering monitoring systems. Meanwhile, survivors still grapple with health impacts, European
forests remain contaminated, and debates over nuclear energy have reignited amid global energy crises. Through firsthand accounts from eyewitnesses, a leading historian and an activist, this film explores why Chernobyl's legacy is far from sealed.
As calls for nuclear power grow louder, the lessons of Chernobyl risk being forgotten. Four decades on, this is a story not just of the past, but of ongoing struggles, unresolved questions, and a disaster that continues to shape our present — and our future.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro: Pripyat, April 26, 1986
0:50 Worst Case Scenario
4:13 Nuclear Cloud Over Europe
5:43 Cleaning Up Chernobyl
9:39 The Children of Chernobyl
12:23 Anti-Nuclear Protests
14:10 Exit Nuclear Power: Yes or No?
16:11 Ongoing Struggles
CREDITS
Report: Julia Hitz
Contributors: Maryna Barba, Annika Sost
Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets, Evgenji Dubnov
Editing: Martha Torres Rodriguez
Archival Research: Julia Rose
Supervising Editor: Ricarda Otte
Executive Producers: Sarah Hofmann, Melanie von Marschalck
#dwhistory #DWrussian_history
For more visit: dw.com/en/how-ukraine-is-rebuilding-its-energy-system-under-fire/a-76907346
Please follow DW's netiquette: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G
On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at Chernobyl exploded, triggering the worst nuclear disaster in history. Forty years later, the exclusion zone remains too radioactive for human life, and the catastrophe's impact continues to ripple across Europe and beyond. From the hundreds of thousands of so-called "liquidators" who risked their lives cleaning up the site, to the children evacuated from contaminated areas, to the anti-nuclear movements that reshaped energy policy — Chernobyl changed the world forever.
But the disaster isn't over. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine turned the exclusion zone into a war zone, with drone strikes threatening the protective containment structure and power outages endangering monitoring systems. Meanwhile, survivors still grapple with health impacts, European
forests remain contaminated, and debates over nuclear energy have reignited amid global energy crises. Through firsthand accounts from eyewitnesses, a leading historian and an activist, this film explores why Chernobyl's legacy is far from sealed.
As calls for nuclear power grow louder, the lessons of Chernobyl risk being forgotten. Four decades on, this is a story not just of the past, but of ongoing struggles, unresolved questions, and a disaster that continues to shape our present — and our future.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro: Pripyat, April 26, 1986
0:50 Worst Case Scenario
4:13 Nuclear Cloud Over Europe
5:43 Cleaning Up Chernobyl
9:39 The Children of Chernobyl
12:23 Anti-Nuclear Protests
14:10 Exit Nuclear Power: Yes or No?
16:11 Ongoing Struggles
CREDITS
Report: Julia Hitz
Contributors: Maryna Barba, Annika Sost
Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets, Evgenji Dubnov
Editing: Martha Torres Rodriguez
Archival Research: Julia Rose
Supervising Editor: Ricarda Otte
Executive Producers: Sarah Hofmann, Melanie von Marschalck
#dwhistory #DWrussian_history
For more visit: dw.com/en/how-ukraine-is-rebuilding-its-energy-system-under-fire/a-76907346
Please follow DW's netiquette: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G
