After Russian troops seize control of Chornobyl, Ukraine's nuclear agency reports a rise in radiation levels.

• The movement of heavy military machinery caused the top layer of soil to be lifted into the air, according to experts at the state nuclear agency.
• The catastrophic explosion and fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, resulted in the worst nuclear disaster in history.
• On Thursday, the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was seized by Russian forces, prompting an advisor to the presidential office to declare it "impossible" to deem the shuttered reactor safe.

On Friday, Ukraine's nuclear agency stated that radiation levels at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, which was taken over by Russian troops, had surpassed safe limits.

The movement of heavy military machinery caused the top layer of soil to be lifted into the air, according to experts at the state nuclear agency.

The condition of the Chornobyl nuclear facilities and other locations remains unchanged, as stated by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine.

The catastrophic explosion and fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, resulted in the worst nuclear disaster in history.

On Thursday, Russia launched an unprecedented invasion of Ukraine, and on Friday, officials warned that Russian troops were approaching the capital city of Kyiv.

The escalation of the assault has intensified concerns about a catastrophic humanitarian emergency and constitutes one of the most severe security threats in Europe in many years.

On Thursday, the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was seized by Russian forces, prompting an advisor to the presidential office to declare it "impossible" to deem the shuttered reactor safe.

An aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, described the Russian attack as "pointless" and stated that it posed "one of the most serious threats in Europe today," according to Reuters.

The Interior Ministry of Ukraine reported on Friday that they were observing a rise in radiation levels, however, the situation was not yet critical.

The Ukrainian military and Russian paratroopers have agreed to work together to secure the facility, according to a statement from Russia's Defense Ministry on Friday.

According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, joint activities between Russian paratroopers and Ukrainian service members ensure that nationalist units and terrorist organizations cannot exploit the current situation in the country to carry out a nuclear provocation. (Rewritten sentence with the same length)

‘Maximum restraint’

The estimated death toll from cancers caused by the Chornobyl disaster is close to 100,000, according to environmental group Greenpeace.

The area surrounding the shuttered reactor disaster in Chornobyl, which spans approximately 1,000 square miles, is an uninhabited expanse of land situated between Kyiv and the border with Belarus.

Following the seizure of the nuclear power plant by Russian troops on Thursday, Zelenskyy tweeted, "Our brave defenders are sacrificing their lives to prevent a repeat of the 1986 disaster."

He declared war on all of Europe, he stated.

The UN nuclear watchdog is closely monitoring the conflict in Ukraine and has urged caution to prevent any actions that could endanger the country's nuclear facilities.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, stated on Thursday that it is crucial to ensure the uninterrupted and secure functioning of nuclear facilities in that region.

Grossi said the IAEA remains in permanent contact with its Ukrainian counterpart.

An IAEA spokesperson could not be reached for comment when contacted by CNBC.