Majuro, MARSHALL ISLANDS — The Marshall Islands is today remembering those affected by nuclear testing in their country.

1st March is a national holiday to allow people to commemorate Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day.

It was 1st March, 1954, when the United States most powerful hydrogen bomb detonated over Bikini Atoll, where testing had begun in 1946.

The people had been moved off Bikini in 1946.

The huge test, called Castle Bravo, led to the contamination of 15 islands and atolls, resulting in people being evacuated from more distant islands, such as Rongelap.

Enewetak became the site for the testing after Bikini had become too contaminated.

In the 1970s some residents were allowed to return, only to be moved off again ten years later, due to contamination.

Ever since the testing began there have been concerns at the health risks due to fallout and radiation.

Marshallese have suffered from forced relocation, burns, birth defects, and cancers.

The national holiday is seen as a chance to commemorate the victims and survivors of the nuclear testing, to promote peace, and acknowledge the nuclear legacy.

The National Nuclear Commissioner Alson Kelen said the people of the Marshall Islands are still deeply affected by the testing.

He said they will never forget the resilience and strength of the nuclear frontline communities who continue to fight for dignity, respect and social justice.

This year's remembrance comes as Russia raises the specter of nuclear devastation as Russian president Vladimir Putin invades it's neighbor Ukraine.

Associated Press is reporting that  in the past Putin has struck rivals as reckless, impulsive. But his behavior in ordering an invasion of Ukraine — and now putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert — has some in the West questioning whether the Russian president has become dangerously unstable.

In recent days, Putin has rambled on television about Ukraine, repeated conspiracy theories about neo-Nazism and Western aggression, berated his own foreign intelligence chief on camera from the other side of a high-domed Kremlin hall where he sat alone. Now, with the West’s sanctions threatening to cripple Russia’s already hobbled economy, Putin has ordered the higher state of readiness for nuclear weapons, blaming the sanctions and what he called “aggressive statements against our country.”

The uncertainty over his thinking adds a wildcard to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Western officials must confront Putin as they also wonder whether he comprehends or cares about cataclysmic consequences — or perhaps is intentionally preying on the long-held suspicions about him.

An aide to French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke with Putin on Monday, said the Russian leader answered Macron “without showing irritation, in a very clinical and a very determined manner.”

“We can see that with President Putin’s state of mind, there is a risk of escalation,” added the aide, who spoke anonymously in line with the French presidency’s practice on sensitive talks. “There is a risk of manipulation from President Putin to justify what is unjustifiable.”