Speaking near the site of the disaster, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the Chernobyl reactor explosion in the former Soviet Ukraine had "more than anyone else" affected neighboring Belarus.

"Both Belarusians and Ukrainians know that the Chernobyl catastrophe knows no borders," said Lukashenko.

On April 26, 1986, the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl plant exploded after a safety test went horribly wrong. Winds spread radiation from Chernobyl's ruptured reactor across Belarus' southeastern regions, prompting major alerts in much of northern Europe, including western Russia.

Around 30 people were killed on site and several thousand more are feared to have died in the following years from radiation poisoning in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. A 2005 United Nations report estimated that 4,000 people could eventually die from the invisible poison, but in a later report, environmental group Greenpeace claimed that 100,000 had already lost their lives.

Last year, a giant metal dome funded by more than 40 countries capped the remnants of the plant where 200 tons of uranium remain buried.

Still in place is a 30-kilometer exclusion zone, including the ghost town of Pripyat, whose 50,000 residents were among hundreds of thousands hastily evacuated.

Praise and thanks to 'liquidators'

On Wednesday, Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman thanked the more than 600,000 "liquidators" dispatched to try to clean up the site, armed with relatively little protective gear by then-Soviet authorities.

Chernobyl's massive new sarcophagus was installed in 2016

Those still alive now suffer from debilitating radiation illnesses, according to the German education and intercultural exchange foundation IBB based in Dortmund. It has links to Chernobyl disaster research centers in Kharkov, Ukraine and Minsk, Belarus and has planned a new web archive documenting the fates of the liquidators.

IBB has also promoted a new book authored by one of them, Oleg Veklenko, now an architecture professor in Kharkov. Ukraine's second-largest city is home to 25,000 Chernobyl disaster evacuees and workers, including 12,000 liquidators.

Wolfgang Mössinger, the German general consul for Ukraine's Donetsk region, said Monday that the liquidators were owed great public respect and support.

"In 1986 over seven months the liquidators built the first protective shell under indescribably atrocious conditions," he said.

Fukushima disaster

Parallel to the Chernobyl remembrances, Japan's disaster construction minister Masahiro Imamura resigned Wednesday over his remark a day earlier that "it was good" that Fukushima and not Tokyo had been hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, implying that the economic cost was less.

The disaster and the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant devastated the largely rural region of Tohoku and claimed more than 18,500 lives.

"I caused great trouble to the people of Tohoku and hurt their feelings. I'm very sorry," said Imanura while bowing.

Six years after that disaster, businesses have struggled to recover and many evacuee families have given up hope of returning to their contaminated homes. More than 2000 people are still missing.

Does nuclear power have a future? Deadly disaster The worst nuclear disaster of all time, the explosion at Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine released massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Areas close to the plant - in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia - were heavily contaminated. Heightened levels of radiation were also measured across most of Europe. The "exclusion zone" around Chernobyl remains off-limits to human habitation today.

Does nuclear power have a future? It happens again After a magnitude-9 earthquake and consequent tsunami, three nuclear reactors at Fukushima power plant in Japan went into meltdown in March 2011. There were also four hydrogen explosions. The accident released 500 times as much radioactive cesium-137 as the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The clean-up is expected to take decades.

Does nuclear power have a future? Sickening impact After Chernobyl, thousands of people developed cancer. In Japan too, the heavily contaminated region of Fukushima, where 200,000 people lost their homes, saw cases of the disease escalate. The number of children with thyroid cancer there is 20 times higher than other regions.

Does nuclear power have a future? Rallying against nuclear power Chernobyl fueled public opposition to nuclear power, particularly in Europe. The same happened after Fukushima. Before the Japanese disaster, the country relied on nuclear for 30 percent of its power. That has fallen to 1 percent. The government wants to continue producing nuclear power and plans to reinstall some reactors. But affected regions have successfully pushed back those plans.

Does nuclear power have a future? Nuclear industry in crisis Today, the nuclear power sector is deep in economic crisis. In Japan, the United States and France, nuclear power plants run at a loss, and construction projects for new reactors have been postponed.

Does nuclear power have a future? New-build set-backs France had high hopes for its newest nuclear reactors - called pressurized water reactors (PWRs). This technology was supposed to be safe, and the Flamanville power plant was due to be switched on in 2012. Due to security issues, that's been pushed back to 2018 at the earliest. The project will cost more than 10 billion euros - three times the original budget.

Does nuclear power have a future? Great Britain plans new reactors For years, the UK has been planning to build two new PWR reactors at Hinkley Point. Costs are estimated at 33 billion euros and groundbreaking is slated for 2019. But doubts are growing over its economic viability. The electricity it produces will be much pricier than solar or wind power, and will need subsidies to compete in the market.

Does nuclear power have a future? Aging reactors up for grabs Nuclear power plants used to be lucrative. But now, many are old and frail. Repair costs often mean they cannot turn a profit. Swiss energy corporation Alpiq recently tried to give away two of its old plants, 33 and 38 years old, to French energy company EDF - which declined the offer.

Does nuclear power have a future? Disasters abroad prompt German phase-out Three decades ago, the Chernobyl disaster galvanized Germany's anti-nuclear movement, which is often cited as the roots of the country's energy transition. In 2002, Germany passed a law that would have seen the last reactor shut down in 2022. The plan was later scrapped by Angela Merkel's government. But after Fukushima, Merkel quickly reversed her decision and the phase-out was back on track.

Does nuclear power have a future? Switching them off So far, nine of Germany's reactors have gone offline, with eight more to follow by 2022. To finance the costs of nuclear waste disposal, plant operators must pay 23.6 billion euros into a federal fund. The operators themselves are responsible for the similarly costly process of dismantling the plants, which will take decades to complete.

Does nuclear power have a future? Growing fear of accidents Across the EU and Switzerland 132 nuclear reactors are still online. They were designed to operate for 30 to 35 years - their average age is now 32 years. Malfunctions and security issues are frequently detected and protestors are increasingly calling for plants to be shut down.

Does nuclear power have a future? China pushes on with nuclear No new nuclear power plants have been built in the EU, Japan or Russia since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. China remains committed to nuclear, partly to replace coal-based power. But the country is also upping investment in wind and solar. Author: Gero Rueter (sst,jf)



ipj/cmk (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa, KNA)