Ukraine's nuclear firm says most Russian forces have left Chernobyl plant

UKRAINE-CRISIS/CHERNOBYL-RUSSIA (URGENT):Ukraine state nuclear firm says most Russian forces have left Chernobyl nuclear plant

Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom on Thursday said many of the Russian forces occupying the Chernobyl nuclear plant had left and were headed for the Belarusian border, leaving just a few on the territory of the defunct plant.

Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine. (REUTERS)

"The occupiers, who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the exclusion zone, have set off in two columns towards the Ukrainian border," it said in a statement.

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It said Russian forces had also retreated from the nearby town of Slavutych, where Ukrainian workers at Chernobyl live.