Russian forces have seized control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, and are holding staff hostage, CNN reports quoting Ukranian officials.
Troops overran the plant on the first day of Russia's multi-pronged invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, Yevgeniya Kuznetsovа, told CNN.
Alyona Shevtsova, advisor to the commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, said on Facebook that Russian forces have taken control of the power station and that the staff are being "held hostage."
According to Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, control of the Chornobyl zone was lost after a "fierce battle."
Podolyak said the condition of the former Chernobyl power plant's nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown.
"After a completely senseless Russian attack in this direction, it is impossible to say that Chernobyl is safe," Podolyak added. "This is one of the most serious threats to Europe today."
The White House on Thursday said it was outraged over "credible reports" that Russian soldiers are holding staff of the Chernobyl facilities hostage.
"This unlawful and dangerous hostage taking, which could upend the routine civil service efforts required to maintain and protect the nuclear waste facilities, is obviously incredibly alarming and greatly concerning," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a Thursday evening briefing.
"We condemn it and we request their release."
Warnings over Russian moves
Earlier Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian forces were attempting to wrest control of the nuclear plant.
"Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the Chernobyl (nuclear power plant). Our defenders are sacrificing their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated," Zelensky tweeted."This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe."
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry echoed the President's warning, raising the specter of another nuclear disaster in the city.
"In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster in Chernobyl," the ministry tweeted. "If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl can happen again in 2022."
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