Chernobyl nuclear power plant captured by Russian forces after violent fighting

Kyiv, Feb 24: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces seized the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It is the shortest route from Russia to Kyiv.

The plant was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident when a nuclear reactor exploded in April 1986, spewing radioactive waste across Europe.

The plant lies 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of the capital of Kyiv. The exploded reactor has been covered by a protective shelter to prevent radiation leak and the entire plant has been decommissioned.

Zelenskyy said on Twitter that "our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated." He added that "this is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe."

"When I came to the office today in the morning [in Kyiv], it turned out, that the [Chernobyl nuclear power plant] management had left. So there was no one to give instructions or defend," Exclusion Zone Management spokesperson Yevgeniya Kuznetsovа said.

A presidential adviser says Ukraine lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, where Ukranian forces had waged a fierce battle with Russian troops. Adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press that Ukrainian authorities did not know the current condition of the facilities at Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

"After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe," he said.