Ukrainian state-owned nuclear company Energoatom said Russians have also left Slavutych, a town close to the plant where workers live.
earlier Thursday that Ukrainian official Yaroslav Yemelianenko said several Russian soldiers had to be hospitalized after digging through contaminated soil. However, the IAEA said it has not been able to confirm this.played their country's national anthem
every morning as an act of protest after soldiers took away their cell phones and forced them to work around-the-clock at gunpoint for 27 days straight. That added up to almost 500 hours on the job before a shift change was finally allowed. In its statement, the IAEA added that there have been no reports of another staff rotation in the past 10 to 11 days.
"It is high time to stop an armed conflict from putting nuclear facilities at severe risk, potentially endangering the safety of people and the environment in Ukraine and beyond," Grossi said in a separate IAEA statement."Words must mean something—it is time for action."reached out to Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs but did not hear back in time for publication.Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have left the Chernobyl nuclear plant.