Ukraine mourns Chernobyl nuclear explosion

Ukrainian mourners carried single red carnations and flickering candles during a solemn memorial ceremony early today to remember the 1986 Chernobyl explosion, an event that continues to scar the psyche of the ex-Soviet republic 20 years later.

The pre-dawn explosion, to be marked here during day-long events, became the world’s worst ever nuclear accident, spewing radiation across vast stretches of Europe.