In April, the world traditionally remembers one of the worst man-made disasters in human history - the Chornobyl accident in 1986. This tragedy not only left a deep mark in the hearts of millions of people, but also changed approaches to nuclear safety around the world. But almost 40 years later, Chornobyl is once again in the spotlight - this time because of a threat that arose not from a technical failure but from armed aggression.

Crisis communication has become an integral part of the Ukrainian media space long before the full-scale invasion. Its importance was acutely felt in the spring of 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the media faced the need to convey information from official sources to the public in a prompt, objective, and responsible manner. The key task was to maintain public trust, prevent panic and ensure compliance with life-saving recommendations.

Since the early 2000s, there has been a significant increase in the number of innovative reactor designs worldwide. These designs are based on unique solutions and approaches not  yet seen in operating nuclear power plants nor previously used in the nuclear energy sector.

This autumn marked a significant event in the field of nuclear energy, not only for Ukraine but also globally. Ukraine was the first country to load Westinghouse nuclear fuel into a VVER-440 reactor at one of its NPPs. Until now, Ukrainian reactors of this type used only russian fuel. Thus, Ukraine has become the first nation to achieve independence from russia in the supply of fresh nuclear fuel for operating VVER-1000 and VVER-440 Soviet-era reactors.

Europe abandons russian nuclear fuel and chooses an alternative such as Westinghouse fuel. This is testified by numerous statements of key persons from European countries and the recently launched APIS Project: Accelerated Programme for Implementation of Secure VVER Fuel Supply.

The full-scale invasion of the russian federation troops into the territory of Ukraine caused many political, economic, social troubles and problems. In addition to the destroyed infrastructure and huge mined areas, Ukraine also faced a radiation threat. In addition to the more than 1 year ZNPP occupation, the territory of the exclusion zone and the zone of unconditional (obligatory) resettlement was captured for a month, looted and mutilated.

Ukraine took another step towards ensuring nuclear and radiation safety and overcoming consequences of the Chornobyl accident. At the end of August, the Chornobyl NPP received a license to process and store the radioactive waste that has accumulated and is being generated in Shelter transformation into an environmentally safe system (operation of the Confinement and Shelter system).

From 1 to 19 September this year, joint international radiation monitoring exercises were held in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) under a project of the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection and State Specialized Enterprise “Ecocenter” with the assistance of the German Embassy in Ukraine. The objective was to prepare an up-to-date map showing the distribution of Cs-137 radiation contamination and predict the nature of its changes.

According to the management of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS), training and improvement of knowledge and skills are not only current requirements, but also an integral part of daily activity. Being guided by this paradigm, SSTC NRS actively develops the popular work area such as education and training for experts of institutions and organizations acting in the field of nuclear energy and participates in various domestic and international educational projects.

The State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS) adheres to its mission of scientific and technical support for state regulation of nuclear and radiation safety in Ukraine to protect the public and the environment against man-made radiological effects and recognizes that comprehensive development and expansion of capabilities are among its responsibilities.