Belarusians, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians have experienced firsthand the devastating consequences of radioactive contamination. On April 26, 1986, the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant released a catastrophic wave of radiation that poisoned thousands of kilometers of land and waterways.

Belarus suffered disproportionately: approximately 70% of the fallout landed on Belarusian territory, contaminating nearly a quarter of the country’s land. Over 2 million people, including half a million children, were exposed to dangerously high radiation levels. Nearly four decades later, southern Belarus remains scarred by the disaster: vast areas remain contaminated, over 400 villages stand abandoned as ghost towns, and multiple generations continue to suffer illnesses directly linked to radiation exposure, such as thyroid cancer, leukemia, and severe birth defects.

Those who have lived through the horror of Chernobyl understand the true meaning of living under constant invisible threat—where the air we breathe and the wind itself can carry death. For people in our region, climate justice is fundamentally intertwined with nuclear safety. After all, environmental catastrophes and nuclear disasters are inseparable. We cannot talk seriously about a sustainable, secure future without eliminating nuclear threats.

Yet, today we face a disturbing new development: the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus. For the first time since the Cold War, nuclear warheads are poised to return to Belarusian soil under the guise of “security guarantees.” This is a cynical distortion. The truth is far more dangerous: the presence of nuclear weapons makes our homes immediate targets, increasing vulnerability rather than safety. Military experts warn unequivocally that in the event of conflict, nuclear storage facilities would become prime targets, plunging the region into unimaginable catastrophe. Even a minor miscalculation, an accident, or sabotage could turn our homeland into radioactive wasteland overnight.

The implications of even a single nuclear detonation are horrifying. A tactical nuclear strike would result in instant devastation—raging fires, death on a massive scale, and radiation spreading uncontrollably across borders, poisoning rivers, lakes, forests, and agricultural lands. This would lead not just to immediate human tragedy but to long-term ecological disaster, rendering fertile fields barren and water sources toxic for decades, perhaps even centuries. Sustainability and efforts at climate resilience would become meaningless—there would be no viable ecosystem left to sustain.

The dangers extend beyond immediate environmental destruction. The escalation of nuclear threats profoundly undermines global stability and peace efforts. International tensions escalate, and critical arms control treaties, painstakingly built over decades, collapse. Cooperation on urgent issues like climate change requires trust and peace among nations. It becomes impossible to effectively tackle the climate crisis while governments remain preoccupied with escalating arms races and military brinkmanship, diverting critical resources away from ecological innovation toward destructive arsenals.

It is essential to underscore: the Belarusian people never asked for this “nuclear protection.” Independent surveys clearly show nearly 80% of urban Belarusians firmly oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons within their country. Citizens do not want to live under the perpetual shadow of nuclear catastrophe. They demand—and deserve—a future free from fear. As environmentalists, climate activists, and defenders of human dignity, we must stand unequivocally in solidarity with their demands: Belarus must remain nuclear-free, as committed in the 1990s. Any advancement towards nuclear militarization must be vigorously opposed by environmental and human rights movements across the globe.

What actions can we take now? Our voices must ring out clearly: “Our climate does not need a nuclear winter!” We must collectively insist that world leaders urgently return to meaningful arms control negotiations. Global campaigns, from the UN-led initiatives to influential movements such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), deserve our full support. We must share a powerful, unassailable truth: each nuclear warhead positioned near us threatens global climate security, because even one reckless act or miscalculation can ignite an irreversible global environmental catastrophe.

Leading scientists repeatedly warn that even a limited nuclear conflict could trigger a global “nuclear winter,” causing dramatic cooling of the planet, catastrophic crop failures, and widespread famine affecting billions of people worldwide. Are we truly prepared to risk a global freeze under a radioactive ash cloud while simultaneously combating global warming?

The clear and unequivocal response must be total nuclear disarmament in defense of life itself. A peaceful, nuclear-free region is fundamental for a sustainable, thriving future. Rather than gambling with atomic annihilation, let us invest our energies in green technologies, ecological education, quality healthcare, and genuine peacebuilding initiatives—those meaningful actions that genuinely safeguard humanity, ensuring safe, healthy, and flourishing societies.

Credits: TASS/Vladimir Repik, Igor Kostin, Valery Zufarov

Credits: unsplash

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