Intended as RBMK-1000 units capable of approximately 1,000 megawatts each, construction began on 1 July 1981 and was partially completed by the time of the Chernobyl disaster on 26 April 1986.

Both units were intended to be RBMK-1000 and would generate approximately 1,000 megawatts each, and also be supported by two cooling towers located south-east from the reactors.

[8][9] During an unprecedented public hearing in April 1987, over 60 experts and scientists from the Ukrainian Academy of Science signed a petition opposing the completion of units 5 and 6 to the Ministry of Atomic Energy.

[10] Finally on 23 May 1989, a decision was made to discontinue the construction of both reactors, writing off 500 million rubles.

These findings were found to be significant, and the Chernobyl Decommissioning Team submitted the video recording to international authorities regarding the reactor's status.

[1] Chernobyl Reactor 5 was initially abandoned after the 1986 disaster, but final decisions to halt work occurred in 1989 as safety and cost concerns grew.

[1] During the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Australian artist Guido van Helten painted a photograph taken in 1986 by photojournalist Igor Kostin of the reactor onto the side of the coolant tower.