Russian forces take control of Chernobyl workers’ town, three dead

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement that it was closely monitoring the situation and expressed concern about the ability of staff to rotate in and out of the atomic power station.

Pavlyuk did not describe how the town had been taken, but said some residents had unfurled a large Ukrainian flag and shouted “Glory to Ukraine” in protest.

He also said the Russians fired into the air to disperse the protest in the centre of the town and had thrown stun grenades into the crowd.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about Slavutych.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the town had become a new hotspot of the war.

On Friday, Ukraine said Russian troops had drawn close to the town, which had a pre-war population of around 25,000, and had launched an unsuccessful first attack.

Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbour. Kyiv and its Western allies call it an unprovoked war of aggression.