Moldovan PM says learned about Chernobyl tragedy from Voice of America

Chisinau, April 26 – Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu has recalled the dramatic moments from the day of the Chernobyl explosion, stressing the importance of access to accurate and timely information.

In a message published on the 40th anniversary of the nuclear tragedy, the PM said that he had been in Moscow when the accident occurred and that he learned about the disaster not from the official Soviet channels, but from the Voice of America.

“Four decades have passed since the Chernobyl tragedy – a moment that forever changed lives, destinies and the way we look at our responsibility towards people. I remember those days with painful clarity. I was in Moscow, at a time when, although we were still living in the Soviet Union, the wish for freedom and truth was already being felt. The woman who would later become my wife was in Kyiv, where she was to defend her thesis. She was stranded there, without knowing why, without certainties. Communication was limited. I learned about the tragedy not from the official channels, but from the Voice of America. That was when I understood how important it is for the truth to be told in time and how costly its absence can be,” said Alexandru Munteanu.

The prime minister underlined that the Chernobyl disaster had caused loss of human life and suffering for thousands of people, and that the lessons of that moment must be known by the younger generations.

“I am glad that today’s young people have access to information, documentaries, and testimonies. It is essential that they know these lessons of the past, not out of fear, but out of respect and responsibility. Chernobyl is not just a tragedy of the past. It is a warning and a duty: to tell the truth, to protect life and to never forget. We commemorate, we remember and we learn,” concluded Alexandru Munteanu.

President Maia Sandu today is paying a visit to Kyiv, where she has meetings with her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The head of state informed that she would also go to Chernobyl, in order to pay tribute to those who had intervened after the 1986 catastrophe.

Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu conveyed a commemoration message on the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, stressing the deep impact of the tragedy on people and the need to prevent such disasters.

On April 26, it is 40 years since the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, which occurred in 1986, when an explosion at reactor number four released massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. The accident, considered to this day the worst in the history of nuclear energy, generated a radioactive cloud that spread rapidly over much of Europe, affecting millions of people and contaminating vast areas of land.

According to United Nations data, more than 3.5 million people were hit and approximately 50,000 square kilometers were contaminated.