Fellow countrymen!
April 26 will forever remain a mournful date for Ukrainians. 18 years ago it split our history in half, passed as a black streak through the fate of millions of our fellow citizens. Chornobyl became a symbol of our common misfortune, countless losses, terrible human pain.
Today we bow our heads before the bright memory of those who by the will of fate found themselves at the epicenter of the catastrophe and could not save themselves. These are irreparable human losses. Ukraine will never be able to heal this wound!
We remember with a kind word those who were the first to bear the blow of the accident, who at the cost of their own lives shielded us from nuclear disaster. They will forever remain an example of courage and honor. Eternal memory to them!
We must remember our three million fellow countrymen who even now bear the heavy cross of Chornobyl. Do we all fully realize what it means to live on radioactive land, to carry within oneself a critical dose of the "peaceful atom," or, having lost one's health, to knock on the doors of officials' offices in search of compassion and support? We must remember — next to us live people who have had the heavy trial of being Chornobyl victims.
Their life cannot be called anything other than a trial. After all, the state, which declares its social orientation, has in fact abandoned its most vulnerable citizens to their fate. Year after year, Chornobyl programs are being narrowed, the benefits and compensations provided for by law do not work, and debts to Chornobyl victims are growing. For them, as for pensioners, veterans, and the disabled, the government has one answer — there is no money. Can such an answer satisfy at least one person affected by the accident? I am certain — no. Chornobyl victims want their protection and support to be a priority, not the margins of social policy. I am on their side!
Let the anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster serve as a reminder of the terrible consequences of such human activity in which man and his life are assigned a secondary role. We must do everything so that Chornobyl never happens again on our land!
Viktor Yushchenko