'A new tragedy caused once again by the Kremlin' — Widow of Chornobyl's first victim killed by Russian attack on Kyiv 39 years later
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include comments from President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Nataliia Khodemchuk, widow of Valerii Khodemchuk, the first victim of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, died in Kyiv after suffering severe injuries in a mass overnight Russian attack on Nov. 14–15.
The State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management said Khodemchuk, 73, was critically wounded when a drone struck a residential building in the Troieshchyna district, completely burning her apartment.
She was taken to the Burn Center near the Chernihivska metro station, but doctors were unable to save her life.
Khodemchuk's death brings the total number of people killed in the Nov. 14 missile and drone attack on Kyiv to seven, with at least 36 others injured and damage reported across nine districts of the capital.
President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on Khodemchuk's death in a post on X on Nov. 15, calling it "a new tragedy caused once again by the Kremlin."
"Ukrainians who survived Chornobyl, who helped rebuild the country after that disaster, are once again facing danger — the terror of an aggressor state," Zelensky said.
"Ukraine needs support that saves lives: more air defense systems, more protective capabilities, and greater resolve from our partners. Only this can stop further Russian terror and give Ukrainian families the basic right to safety in their own homes."
The Chornobyl nuclear accident occurred on April 26, 1986, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The accident remains the most devastating nuclear disaster in the history of nuclear energy production in terms of civilian casualties to date.
Valerii Khodemchuk was immediately killed in the initial blast and is commemorated as the first victim of the disaster. His body was never found. A monument to Khodemchuk is built into the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus.
Nataliia Khodemchuk had spent many years preserving the memory of her husband, regularly visiting the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the memorial dedicated to him, and his symbolic grave at Mytyn Cemetery.
The couple raised two children, and Khodemchuk leaves behind grandchildren. She left her family with photographs, stories, and recollections connected to the Chornobyl tragedy and the anniversary projects she took part in.
The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 4,000 people have died since the Chornobyl disaster due to acute radiation symptoms, thyroid cancer, or radiation-induced leukemia.
