The Head of the Volyn Regional State Administration, Volodymyr Bondar, addressed executive authorities, local self-government bodies, labor collectives, enterprises, institutions and organizations of all forms of ownership, political parties, public organizations, and all residents of the region on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The head of the region asked Volyn residents to help fellow countrymen affected by the Chornobyl catastrophe to the best of their ability, – the Western Information Corporation was informed by the press service of the Volyn Regional State Administration. \n \nWe present the full text of the address: \n \n"Dear Volyn residents! \n \nThe 20th anniversary of the tragic event – the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant – is approaching. \n \nThe first to take upon themselves the Cross of taming the radiation element were the liquidators, who at the cost of their lives and health protected the peoples of Ukraine and other states of the world from the consequences of the most terrible man-made catastrophe. \n \nThe Chornobyl disaster did not bypass the residents of our region either. Almost 155 thousand people affected by the ChNPP accident live in Volyn, including 3,215 liquidators of the ChNPP accident, 1,767 participants in the liquidation of the 1986-1987 accident, over 47 thousand affected children, 996 families lost their breadwinners, 198 disabled children whose disability is related to the consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe. \n \nIn Kamin-Kashyrskyi, Lyubeshiv, and Manevychi districts, 167 settlements suffered radioactive contamination as a result of the ChNPP accident, where almost 140 thousand affected persons live, including 40,614 children. 505.1 thousand hectares of territory, including 181,475 hectares of agricultural land and 14,480 hectares of forest areas, require rehabilitation. About a thousand liquidators of the ChNPP accident have passed away, and each of the living liquidators lost their health. \n \nOver the 20 years after the Chornobyl NPP accident, the state allocated to the region within 2.0 billion UAH to minimize the consequences of this catastrophe. During this period, 13 healthcare facilities, 19 secondary schools, 171 kilometers of water pipelines, 550 apartments for those affected by the Chornobyl catastrophe were put into operation, and a number of settlements in Kamin-Kashyrskyi and Lyubeshiv districts were provided with gas. For the resettlement of 740 citizens from the zone of unconditional, mandatory resettlement from Olevsk district of Zhytomyr region, the urban-type settlement of Dubyshche was built in Rozhyshche district. \n \nI am deeply aware that the funding of measures to minimize the consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe should be better. However, the state is doing everything possible to ease the lives of those affected by the Chornobyl catastrophe, to bring to normal the impact on their bodies of radioactive substances and other factors related to the accident. \n \nOn the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Chornobyl catastrophe, I appeal to executive authorities and local self-government, labor collectives, enterprises, institutions and organizations of all forms of ownership, political parties and public organizations, to the heart and soul of every resident of Volyn, not to leave without attention the liquidators of the Chornobyl NPP accident, Chornobyl invalids, families of deceased liquidators, disabled children, orphans and half-orphans, to provide them with all possible assistance in solving pressing problems. The feat of the liquidators calls us to this. \n \nLet us be merciful!"