“The territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been occupied by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Staff of the power station control the energy blocks and ensure that they operate in accordance with the requirements of technical regulations for operational safety,” the administration of the station said in a statement.

The Zaporizhzhia power plant is in the southeast of the capital, Kiev. Before the nuclear power plant was captured, a Russian airstrike was carried out leading to a huge blaze. Kyiv accused Moscow of “nuclear terrorism”.

The Russian military operation was launched on February 24. The parties met on Thursday for the second round of negotiation talks at the Belarusian border. Ukrainian officials said that a ‘humanitarian corridor’ for the evacuation of civilians from conflict areas was discussed during the meeting.

MACRON: WORST IS YET TO COME

On the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone talk with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenski. Macron stated that “the worst is yet to come”. Putin said that Russia is “determined” to continue the operation. According to Macron, the aim is to bring the entire country under Russian control.

On Wednesday evening, Russia captured its first major city in Ukraine, Kherson - a regional capital of 300,000 people on the Black Sea after a week of fighting. As the shelling of other cities keeps continuing, Russian forces are surrounding the capital, Kyiv.

According to the United Nations, more than one million Ukrainians have taken refuge in neighbouring countries since the beginning of the war.