Russian armed forces are understood to have entered Chernobyl in a bid to seize the nuclear plant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces are trying to seize the area, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
He tweeted: "Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the #Chornobyl_NPP.
"Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated....
"This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe."
UPDATE:
It was in Chernobyl that a nuclear power reactor melted down in 1986 during the Soviet Union era.
The Mirror, referring to a report from NBC which has not been independently verified, said there are concerns fighting may disturb nuclear waste.
NBC's Richard Engel had tweeted before a clarification : "Advisor to Ukrainian interior ministry says Russian forces entered Chernobyl and that fighting there destroyed a nuclear waste storage facility."
He added shortly after: "Clarifying: advisor says heaving fighting MAY disturb nuclear waste."
According to LBC, an adviser for the Interior Minister of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko said today: "The invaders from the territory of Belarus have moved into the Chernobyl AES Zone.
"The National Guardsmen, who guard the collectors of unsafe nuclear radioactive waste, are fighting hard.
"If the invaders artillery hits and ruins/damages the collectors of nuclear waste , radioactive nuclear dust can can be spread over the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and the country of the EU!"
