Kyiv: Russian military forces have seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials say.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said the “totally pointless attack” on Thursday amounted to “one of the most serious threats in Europe today”.
An explosion at Chernobyl in 1986 led to the worst nuclear disaster in human history, both in cost and casualty.
Ukraine’s president warned such a disaster could happen again if Russia continued its invasion.
“Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote earlier on Twitter.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also warned of the possibility of “another ecological disaster” at the site.
Russian troops reportedly entered the exclusion zone earlier on Thursday before crossing over into Ukraine.
The White House says it has received reports that staff are being held hostage at the site by Russian soldiers.
The forces are part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” in their neighbouring country.
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