Nuclear samples have been "looted" by Russian forces which have taken over Chernobyl, according to the Ukrainian state agency covering the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Three weeks after the invading force drove Ukrainian soldiers out of the nuclear power plant in a explosive battle which shocked and alarmed the world, they destroyed and plundered a laboratory.
According to the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the Central Analytical Laboratory had been “looted” by Russian troops.
It contained “highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy”, the state agency said.
Radionuclides are unstable atoms of chemical elements that release radiation, causing organ damage and radiation poisoning.
The organisation claimed the £6 million lab also contained valuable equipment not found anywhere else in Europe.
The situation at Chernobyl is one of the many concerning elements of the war in Ukraine, beyond the terrible loss of human life.
In capturing the plant, which was decommissioned following the 1986 disaster, Russia has shaken the post-Cold War global security consensus, imperilled the world supply of key crops, and raised worries it could set off a nuclear accident.
This week wildfires broke out near the decommissioned nuclear power plant, which needs to be carefully monitored to avoid another catastrophe 36 years after it was taken offline.
On Wednesday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian troops were preparing new attacks around the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
He said: “The world is on the verge of many new crises.
"The environmental and food challenges are unprecedented.”
Mr Zelensky has said Russia’s seizing of the Chernobyl nuclear plant was “a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”
Earlier this month Russian forces disconnected Chernobyl nuclear power plant from the national grid.
National nuclear energy company Ukrenergo said the plant was in total blackout with no power supply.
The lack of power at Chernobyl risks sending radioactive substances into the air.
This week, dozens of trapped workers at the infamous nuclear plant were allowed home for the first time in almost a month.
They had been unable to leave the facility since the invasion began on February 24, but they have now been relieved by other staff.
