Moscow: Russia’s paratroops have seized control of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its surrounding areas in Ukraine. Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov made the announcement on Friday.
Ukrainian nuclear regulators said, a monitoring system in the exclusion zone around the plant showed abnormal radiation levels at a significant number of observation points. They said that they could not determine the reason because the area had been occupied by Russian forces. It said that it agreed with the Ukrainian side to jointly ensure the safety of the plant.
Reuters and other news agencies quoted experts as saying that the change in radiation levels was due to the movement of heavy military equipment in the area lifting radioactive dust into the air.
