Nikolay Solovyov, a retired engineer at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, gestures next to a model of the facility, in Slavutych, Ukraine, on Friday. | AFP-JIJI

Slavutych, Ukraine –

Nikolay Solovyov was on shift the night of April 26, 1986, when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Instead of fleeing, he chose to fight his "first war" against radiation.

Four decades later, a second war — Russia's invasion of Ukraine — has taken his son.

Solovyov, 67, a fan of hard rock music, still wears his hair long, though it has turned gray.

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