Ukraine Declares Independence, Inherits Chernobyl

Ukraine declares independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991, following the failed coup against Gorbachev. The declaration leaves Ukraine as the new sovereign authority over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the exclusion zone, and the ongoing cleanup operation — without the vast Soviet technical and financial resources that had previously supported them. Ukraine also inherits the Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal and faces immediate pressure from Russia and the West regarding the plant's continued operation.