Excessive levels of radiation have been detected in Chernobyl after Russian forces took control of the city, according to the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine (SINR) on Friday.
The SINR's statement came after Ukraine announced Thursday that Kyiv had lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the country's north after a fierce battle with Russian forces.
Russian officials have denied any increase in levels and said paratroopers will be deployed to protect the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
However, according to the Ukrainian SINR, data from the exclusion zone's automated radiation monitoring system shows excessive levels of gamma radiation at several observation points.
SINR initially said the reasons for increasing radiation in the seized city were unknown, but later divulged that some experts believe Russian troops advancing on the city kicked up radioactive dust on the ground.
'Such a fluctuation in the Askro sensor indicators, Ecocentre experts link to a breach of the upper layer of ground, as a result of the movement of a large number of heavy military equipment through the exclusion zone and lifting of air contaminated radioactive dust,' SINR said.
On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed 'grave concern' over the situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant amid Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.
The IAEA 'is following the situation in Ukraine with grave concern and is appealing for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put the country's nuclear facilities at risk,' said Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the Vienna-based agency, in a statement.
In 1986, an accident, known as the world's worst nuclear disaster, occurred at the fourth reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It is located 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the city of Pripyat, which was built in the 1970s for workers at the plant.
Since then, the area has been largely uninhabited.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr