Chornobyl Children International (CCI), led by Founder and Voluntary CEO Adi Roche, has condemned the missile attack on the Chornobyl Museum in Kyiv, which also saw catastrophic damage to the Ukrainian capital and the loss of 80 lives.
The strike, which occurred during a large-scale assault on Kyiv on the night of 23 May, caused severe damage to the museum, an institution dedicated to preserving the memory and legacy of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Approximately 40% of its irreplaceable exhibit items have been destroyed.
Speaking about the attacks over the weekend Adi, who has visited the Chornobyl Museum on many occasions over the past 4 decades, said;
“The Chornobyl Museum was a place I knew well…years of memories that kept the story of Chornobyl alive, especially in this 40th anniversary year, have now been erased forever.”
“Chornobyl is universal, its message speaks to the world and targeting the Chornobyl Museum dishonours the victims and survivors of the disaster. The museum was a sacred memorial that speaks of all nuclear catastrophes and victims. This is akin to attacking a graveyard.”
The Chornobyl Museum served as a vital archive of human suffering, resilience, and scientific history, containing artifacts, testimonies, and documents from those affected by the disaster. The museum re-opened to the public on the 26 April 2026, which marked the 40th Anniversary of the disaster and the United Nations Chornobyl Remembrance Day, which Roche petitioned for at the UN General Assembly in 2016. The museum’s loss represents a profound cultural and historical tragedy.
Chornobyl Children International stressed that the targeting of cultural institutions and sites of remembrance is deeply alarming and undermines efforts to preserve global historical memory. The charity reiterated its call for the protection of all nuclear-related and humanitarian sites, warning of the grave risks posed by ongoing military actions in the vicinity of nuclear facilities.
“40 years on from the disaster, Chornobyl is sacred in global consciousness and it our responsibility to ensure that its legacy and the lessons it holds for all of humanity are never erased or forgotten.” Roche continued.
Adi Roche led the humanitarian response from 1986, and founded Chornobyl Children International as a humanitarian first-responder organisation in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster. The charity has delivered over €110million of humanitarian aid and programmes to the affected regions over the past 40 years.
