Trending Ukraine: Chornobyl anniversary on the north and banned Medjlis of the Crimean Tatars on the south

Discover the latest updates on Ukraine in trending World News as of April 26, 2016.

• The Supreme Court in Crimea on Tuesday banned the legislature of the Crimean Tatar minority, a body that the local authorities have harassed repeatedly for opposing the 2014 Russian annexation of the peninsula. Following a similar action by the Russian Justice Ministry last week, the presiding judge declared the legislature, known as the Mejlis, an “extremist” organization and outlawed its activities on Russian territory(IvanNechepurenko, The New York Times).

• Ukraine held memorial services on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of Chornobyl – the worst nuclear disaster in history. “The issue of the consequences of the catastrophe is not resolved. They have been a heavy burden on the shoulders of the Ukrainian people and we are still a long way off from overcoming them” – President Perto Poroshenko says (Euronews).

• The new shelter and plans to decommission the remaining reactors are meant to provide a long term – perhaps permanent – solution to the Chornobyl disaster (Roland Oliphant, The Telegraph).

• Chornobyl is not a historical event in Ukraine but a living reality for an unquantifiable number of people. For the people who were evacuated after the disaster and separated from their families. For the estimated 180 residents who still live inside the 30km exclusion zone (BBC News).

• One of the most influential journalists on Ukrainian television was denied a work permit on Tuesday, authorities said. Migration authorities said they wouldn’t extend the permit for Savik Shuster, host of a popular political talk show, because he failed to inform them of a tax investigation against him (Associated Press).

Maria Nesheva, EMPR

Tags: Chernobil Chernobyl crimea ukraine russia EMPR Interfax The Telegraph