Excess levels of radiation have been detected at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after Russian forces took over the city, Ukraine has claimed, per Reuters.
Data taken from the automated radiation monitoring system of the exclusion zone, which is available on the web, shows that the control levels of gamma radiation dose rate, which are depicted as red dots, have been exceeded at a large number of observation points, Ukraine's parliament announced in a statement, according to The Independent.
The statement went on to add that it is "currently impossible to establish the reasons for the change in the radiation background in the exclusion zone because of the occupation and military fight in this territory."
According to Russia's defense ministry, the radiation levels being emitted from the power plant are normal, as the country denies the claims that there has been an increase in levels.
Moscow has said it will send paratroopers to the area to assist in securing it, the Russian defense ministry added in a statement. According to a spokesman, Russian forces have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military infrastructure sites.
It was believed prior to the invasion that the uninhabited Chernobyl exclusion zone could become the first area to be taken by Russia due to its close proximity to the Russian border and military forces stationed in Belarus.
The area has largely been uninhabited since the explosion of a nuclear reactor in the town of Pripyat in April 1986, which left behind toxic levels of radiation.
Fighting resumed all over Ukraine this morning on day two of Russia's invasion of the country.
Missiles struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in early morning raids as Russian forces continued with their advance.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, urged his allies to intervene, saying the sanctions announced thus far were not sufficient.
Air raid sirens could be heard all over the city of 3 million people, where some took shelter in underground train stations - a day after Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, began invading its neighbor.
A Ukrainian official has since announced that a Russian plane had been shot down and crashed into a building.