![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="520" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Gallery: 8/8
His Father Passed Away in 2011
Wladimir's father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko, was a former colonel in the Soviet Union Air Force who was stationed near Chernobyl during the 1986 nuclear disaster. He was later diagnosed with lymph node cancer, which was linked to the disaster, and he passed away in 2011 at the age of 64.
"When the first message came through the only thing it said was that something bad had happened. The alarm was raised," Vladimir recalled about Chernobyl. "I was the leader of an air force unit that was immediately relocated to the scene of the incident. From the very beginning, the government tried to cover up the truth and play down the situation. We were given the impression that it wasn't all that serious. Those who were able to leave Kiev took the opportunity to do so, but if you are a soldier you have to fulfill your duties." (Getty)
0 Comments