City Park after Pravyk, Irpin

This young man never reached his 24th birthday. On the night of 26 April 1986, Lieutenant Volodymyr Pravyk led his unit to fight the fire on the roof of the Chornobyl power plant — without protection, not yet knowing that the reactor was already open. Two weeks later, he was gone.

Today, in the centre of Irpin, there is a park bearing his name. An ordinary city park with paths, benches, and a children’s playground — but with a monument and a story that give the quiet between the trees a different meaning.

Location Card

In this article

1. What it is and why people come
2. History: the park and the man whose name it bears
3. Stories told here
4. What to see on site
5. How to get there
6. Visitor checklist
7. Frequently asked questions

What it is and why people come

Volodymyr Pravyk Park is Irpin’s main city park — a green rectangle of nearly 3.8 hectares right in the town centre. People come here not for thrills, but for ordinary human peace: a walk, a coffee, letting the kids loose on the playground, sitting under the pines.

Irpin is often called a «city of parks» — there are several green zones, and Pravyk Park is the most central of them. After a major renovation in 2014 the park gained pedestrian and cycling paths, an entrance feature, children’s and sports (calisthenics) areas, rest zones, and new plantings.

But the main reason to visit with intention is not the paths. It’s the name. Because behind it stands one of the most powerful stories of Ukrainian courage in the 20th century.

History: the park and the man whose name it bears

The park was laid out in the early 1980s as an ordinary Soviet-era recreation area. In 2014 a major renovation began, and on 19 December the same year the updated park was reopened. That was when it definitively claimed its role as Irpin’s main public space.

Who was Volodymyr Pravyk?

Volodymyr Pavlovych Pravyk was born on 13 June 1962. By the age of 23 he was already a lieutenant and watch commander of the military fire brigade that guarded the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

On the night of 26 April 1986, when the fourth reactor unit exploded, it was Pravyk’s watch that arrived first to fight the fire. They worked on the reactor roof without any radiation protection — no one yet understood the true scale of what had happened. Pravyk received a lethal dose of radiation.

Between the fire on the Chornobyl roof and Pravyk’s death, only two weeks passed. He died on 11 May 1986. He was 23.

Pravyk was buried in Moscow in a sealed coffin — the body was too radioactive for an open burial. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero. In Irpin, the city linked to his family, a monument was erected in the park in the late 1980s — one of the first memorials to a liquidator. The park was later officially named after him.

The park that survived another war

The year 2022 added a new, painful chapter to the park’s story. Irpin found itself at the epicentre of the battle for Kyiv, was partially occupied, and became a grey zone. The city was liberated on 28 March 2022, but by then a significant part of its infrastructure had been damaged.

A city with a park named after someone who saved others at the cost of his own life became a symbol of resilience in its own right. There is something very fitting about that.

Stories told here

There are no legends in the traditional sense here — this is a city park, not an abandoned castle. But a couple of accounts make the story of the place feel entirely different.

1. Eyes that changed colour

Among the stories told about the Chornobyl firefighters there is one associated with Pravyk: it is said that from the massive radiation dose his eye colour changed within days from brown to a clear blue. This is hard to verify, but the image of a young man physically transformed by radiation before people’s eyes became part of the collective memory of «the first responders.»

2. They knew they couldn’t save themselves

Local long-time residents like to point out: the firefighters that night drove out to fight what they thought was an ordinary fire, not a planetary-scale catastrophe. Yet when it became clear what they were really facing, no one retreated. That is precisely why the park is not just a green space — it is a quiet monument to a choice those people made.

What to see on site

Monument to Volodymyr Pravyk. The park’s meaningful centrepiece. Every year around the Chornobyl anniversary (26 April) residents gather here.

Alleys and rest areas. Well-kept paths under the pines, benches, space for a slow walk. Especially beautiful in autumn.

Children’s and sports areas. Modern play areas and a calisthenics zone — handy if you have children or want to stretch your legs.

Cycling paths. The park is integrated into Irpin’s pedestrian and cycling network — you can arrive by bike and continue to other green zones around the city.

How to get there

Commuter train. The most convenient option from Kyiv — a suburban train from the central station to Irpin station. From there it is a few minutes’ walk to the town centre where the park is located.

Car. From Kyiv via the Warsaw Highway or the Zhytomyr Road, approximately 25 km. In town, head for the corner of Sadova and Soborna Streets.

Minibus. Minibuses run regularly from Kyiv to Irpin (including from metro stations on the right bank). In town, head to the centre.

Entry is free; the park is open year-round. Best enjoyed in the warm season and during the golden autumn.

Visitor checklist

What to bring:

• Coffee or a thermos: perfect for a slow stroll beneath the pines.
• Scooter or bike: the park is wheel-friendly, with cycling paths nearby.
• A blanket: for a picnic on the grass in the warm season.
• A camera: strikingly photogenic in autumn.
• A moment at the monument: stop by it and read who it honours.

What NOT to do: treat the monument as a backdrop for silly selfies — the story behind it is far too serious.

Frequently asked questions

How much does entry cost?

Nothing. It is an open city park with free entry all year round.

Is it worth making a special trip from Kyiv just for the park?

By itself it is a small city park. But it pairs perfectly with a walk around Irpin — a city of parks with its own story, particularly weighty since 2022.

Is the park suitable for children?

Yes — modern children’s and sports areas, smooth paths for scooters and bikes. One of the most family-friendly spots in Irpin.

Who was Pravyk, the park’s namesake?

Volodymyr Pravyk was a 23-year-old fire lieutenant whose watch was the first to fight the fire at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on the night of 26 April 1986. He received a lethal dose of radiation and died two weeks later.

When is the best time to visit?

The warm season and autumn. Around 26 April — the anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster — commemoration events take place at the monument.

Pravyk Park is easy to dismiss as «just another city square» — benches, kids on scooters, people with coffee. But stop for a moment at the monument, and that ordinary calm suddenly deepens.

Because behind it stands a 23-year-old who drove out to fight a fire no one comes back from. And a whole city that, decades later, held its own in the flames. Sometimes the quietest place in town turns out to be the loudest.