The Chernobyl disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident, began at 01:23 local time when reactor number four exploded. Firefighters and plant workers spent the night risking lethal doses of radiation to tackle the blaze. 5 miles from the plant.
On the morning of their wedding, Serhiy saw soldiers in gas masks and men washing the street with a foamy solution. Colleagues told him they had been called in urgently because 'something happened' but did not know what. From a friend's high-rise apartment, Serhiy saw smoke rising from reactor four.
He took fabric, wet it, and placed it across the apartment entrance to catch radioactive dust. The market was deserted, so he picked five tulips for the bouquet. Iryna's mother was alarmed by neighbors calling to say 'something terrible' had happened.
According to BBC News, authorities told her not to panic and that all planned events should go ahead. Children were sent to school as usual. Information about the disaster was strictly controlled; radio broadcasts did not mention it.
The couple now lives in Berlin, having fled conflict, not the nuclear disaster. The highly radioactive remains of the Chernobyl plant are now in a warzone as of 2026.