Widow of Chernobyl‘s Frist Victim Dies in kyiv Attack
kyiv, Ukraine – Natalia Khodymchuk, 73, the widow of Valery Khodymchuk – widely considered the first fatality of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster – has died from injuries sustained in a recent Russian attack on Kyiv, according to reports from the Daily Mail and The mirror. She succumbed to her burns in a Kyiv hospital where medical personnel were working to save her life.
This tragedy layers a new loss onto a decades-old one, highlighting the enduring consequences of both the Chernobyl accident and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Khodymchuk’s death underscores the vulnerability of civilians in the war and brings renewed attention to the sacrifices made in the wake of the nuclear disaster. Her story connects two pivotal moments in Ukrainian history, demonstrating the long shadow cast by both events.
Valery Khodymchuk perished during the initial response to the Chernobyl meltdown, his body remaining trapped beneath the wreckage of reactor unit four. Following the catastrophe, Natalia relocated from Pripyat to Kyiv, settling in the Troeshchyna district. The building she lived in was designated for those involved in the cleanup efforts and the families of those who died as an inevitable result of the accident.
Notably, Oleksiy ananenko, a former mechanical engineer at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and a Hero of Ukraine, also resides in the same building. Ananenko was one of three volunteers who bravely averted a second, potentially catastrophic explosion at the plant.