Yuri Kobzar8:01 PM, November 15, 2025

Natalia Khodymchuk lived in a Kyiv high-rise building that was hit by a Russian drone.

Natalia’s husband is officially considered the first victim of Chernobyl / collage by UNIAN, photo facebook.com/dazv.gov.ua

Russians have killed the widow of the first victim of the Chernobyl disaster: a woman who was wounded during Russian shelling of Kyiv on the night of November 14 has died in the hospital. The State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management reported this on Facebook .

Natalia Khodymchuk is the wife of Valeriy Khodymchuk, the first official victim of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Valeriy worked as a senior operator of the main circulation pump at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. His body remains buried somewhere under the rubble of the plant.

In recent years, Natalia Khodymchuk lived in a multi-story building in Troyeshchyna, which housed former Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers and their families. Locals called it the “Chernobyl House” or the “Station House.” On the night of November 14, the Russian “Shahed” struck this very building.

As a result of the impact, Natalia Khodymchuk’s apartment burned completely. She suffered severe burns and was hospitalized. On the night of November 15, she died at the age of 73.

According to the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, on November 25, Natalia Romanovna was supposed to travel to Pripyat along with other Chernobyl survivors for a photo shoot as part of the “Chernobyl: A Woman’s Fate” project.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Natalia Khodimchuk visited the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant several times. A memorial plaque to her husband is installed on the wall between the third and fourth reactor units. In addition to an image of Valery Khodimchuk himself, it also bears the handprints of his wife, Natalia, and their daughter, Larisa.

“Russia continually demonstrates its true face – a terrorist state that recognizes neither humanity nor compassion. The enemy will be punished for the death of Natalia Romanovna and for all crimes against Ukrainians,” the state agency added.

(C)UNIAN 2025