Widow of โขChernobyl‘s โFristโ Victim Dies in โขkyiv Attack
kyiv, Ukraine – Natalia Khodymchuk, 73, the widow of Valery โKhodymchuk – widely considered โthe first fatality of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster – hasโค died โfrom injuries sustained in a recent Russian attack on Kyiv,โค accordingโค to reports from the Daily Mail and โค Theโ mirror. She succumbed โขto her burns in a Kyiv hospital where medical personnelโ were working to save herโ life.
This tragedy layers a new โloss onto a decades-old one, highlighting โthe enduring consequences of both the Chernobyl accident and the โคongoing โขconflict in Ukraine. Khodymchuk’s deathโฃ underscores the vulnerability of civilians in โฃthe war and brings renewed attention to the sacrifices โmadeโ in theโ wake of the nuclear โขdisaster. Her story connects two pivotal moments in Ukrainian history, โdemonstrating the long shadow โฃcast by both events.
Valery Khodymchuk perished during the initial response to the Chernobylโ meltdown, hisโ body remaining trapped beneath the โwreckageโ of reactor unit four. Following the catastrophe, Natalia relocated โfrom Pripyat to Kyiv, โขsettling in the Troeshchyna district. The building she livedโข in was designated โfor those involved in theโค cleanup efforts and โคthe families of those who died as an โinevitable result of the accident.
Notably, Oleksiy ananenko, a former mechanical engineer at the โคChernobyl Nuclearโฃ Power Plant and a Heroโ of Ukraine, also resides in the same building. Ananenko was one of โthree volunteers who bravelyโ averted โa second, potentially catastrophic explosion at the โplant.