Russia occupies northern Ukraine

 

Russian troops occupy the northern Ukrainian city of Slavutich. The city is home to workers at the inactive Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Kiev's regional governor Oleksandr Pavliak made the announcement in a telegram on Saturday.

The news agency Reuters reported that Governor Pavliak did not elaborate, although he acknowledged that Slavutich had lost control of the city. There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the then-Soviet Union was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, the BBC reported. This is known as the Chernobyl disaster. The town of Slavutich was built for the evacuees of the center.

Russia was able to take control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on the Belarusian border just days after Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine last month. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is still undergoing waste management at four reactors, and Ukraine has set up a central waste management unit for the management of high radioactive waste generated from the country's 15 nuclear power plants.

The UN nuclear watchdog warned on Friday that fighting in the city would prevent workers from entering or leaving the plant.

Governor Oleksandr Pavliak said in a telegram that locals protested with Ukrainian flags after Slavutich was annexed by Russia. The Russian army dispersed them by firing blank shots and sound bombs.

Meanwhile, in an online post, the city authorities called on the residents of Slavutich to remain calm. The occupants (Russian army) vehicles are patrolling the city in search of weapons, the post said. Please do not provoke them. Don't put yourself in danger. '

Oleksiy Aristovich, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, noted that Slavovich had become the new center of the Russia-Ukraine war. Pointing to Saturday's protests, he said in a televised speech that the city's residents were bravely resisting the occupiers.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine reported that Russian troops had approached Slavotich. Before the war there were about 25,000 people living there.