The Chornobyl disaster of 1986 became the largest man-made tragedy in Ukraine's history, the impact of which is still felt today. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in the cleanup, and millions were exposed to radiation. The state undertook obligations for the social protection of these people. Today, despite the difficult economic situation, Ukraine continues this support, although the system for protecting "Chornobyl victims" faces criticism, writes UNN.
Scale of the disaster
As a result of the accident that occurred on April 26, 1986, the fourth nuclear reactor at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant was completely destroyed. This led to the release of radioactive substances into the environment. The radioactive cloud spread radiation far from the epicenter of the disaster. At least 207 thousand square kilometers of territories were contaminated, and approximately 8.5 million people were exposed to radiation immediately after the accident.
31 people died from the explosion and during the firefighting, which lasted about 10 days, and more than 200 were hospitalized. Over 100,000 people were evacuated from the territory within a 30-kilometer radius of the accident site. 240,000 people alone participated in extinguishing the fire at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. All of them received high doses of radiation. At the same time, these people saved the population of the surrounding territories from an even larger catastrophe - a hydrogen explosion.
After the fire was extinguished, the cleanup efforts did not stop, and in total, the number of people involved reached almost 600,000.
The catastrophe also caused long-term consequences - some territories became uninhabitable, agricultural lands were contaminated with radiation, and the population faced a surge in illnesses caused by radiation exposure - primarily oncological diseases.
People needed support: at least some compensation for lost health, access to treatment and rehabilitation. Thus, in 1991, the Law of Ukraine "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chornobyl Catastrophe" was adopted, which became the cornerstone of social protection for this category of citizens.
What does social protection for "Chornobyl victims" entail?
The mentioned law provides for guarantees of medical care, benefits, and increased pensions.
Among the medical guarantees are free purchase of medicines, annual rehabilitation, and out-of-turn dental prosthetics. The law also guarantees an additional vacation of 14 working days for categories 1 and 2 of "Chornobyl victims." And also discounts on utility services.
Recently, pensions previously assigned to disabled persons and survivors among the affected persons have been modernized, the application of limitations on the maximum size of these pensions has been abolished, and more. Minimum pension amounts have been increased, in particular, from March 1, 2026, the minimum disability pension for Group I persons is UAH 11,048, Group II – UAH 8,838, Group III – UAH 6,813. However, the total amount of pension, including allowances/increases for these persons among the participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chornobyl accident, cannot be less than: Group I - UAH 20,653, Group II – UAH 16,522, Group III – UAH 12,392.
However, despite the legally enshrined guarantees, not everything is so straightforward. In practice, "Chornobyl victims" often face incorrect pension calculations (experience is not taken into account), non-execution of court decisions on pension recalculations, delays and limitations in funding, particularly for the purchase of medicines.
At the end of 2025, a Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada was established to strengthen the social protection of this category of citizens. One of the reasons for its creation was the abuse of residence registration in radiation-affected zones to obtain benefits. However, the commission, like the Cabinet of Ministers, is also working on developing measures to strengthen the social protection of "Chornobyl victims." The authorities consider it necessary to develop a comprehensive draft law that will update and systematize approaches to the comprehensive provision for "Chornobyl victims" and their families.
But work is being done not only at the government level. As UNN was told by the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, a large number of citizens of this category are members of various sectoral trade union organizations.
Trade unions constantly monitor and understand their needs. We are working to improve the social protection of "Chornobyl victims" as one of the socially vulnerable categories. We advocate for the introduction of additional social benefits and services. Trade unions are also working on including relevant provisions in collective agreements.
The FPU helps "Chornobyl victims" primarily by protecting their pension and social rights, providing legal explanations, representing their interests in the budget process, and participating in the preparation and approval of legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening the social protection of this category of citizens.
As Serhiy Byzov noted, the FPU is consistent in its position - "Chornobyl victims" must receive guaranteed protection and support. That is why the Federation did not support the government's proposals regarding the application of reducing coefficients to pension amounts exceeding 10 living wages for disabled persons, including for persons affected by the Chornobyl disaster.
The Federation also does not support the government's proposal regarding the application of a special procedure for paying pensions, for past periods and current payments, assigned or recalculated by court decision, which proposes to pay pensions in insignificant amounts based on funds allocated in the State Budget and the Pension Fund budget, which will lead to the stretching of court decisions over a long period.
We understand the socio-economic situation in the country related to the war. But these people deserve to have their rights to social security, which are guaranteed by the state, respected. And narrowing their rights is unacceptable.