Ukraine prepares to mark 25 years since Chernobyl

[April 25, 2011]  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine is preparing to mark 25 years since the Chernobyl power station exploded in the world's worst nuclear accident.

The blast on April 26, 1986, spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the most heavily hit areas in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia.

An international donors conference in Kiev last week raised 550 million euros ($798 million) of the 740 million euros needed to build a new shelter and a storage facility for spent fuel.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill will commemorate the victims of the nuclear accident with prayers and candle-lighting in Kiev tonight before they travel to the Chernobyl station on Tuesday.

[Associated Press]

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