Russians hand control of Chornobyl nuclear plant back to Ukraine, IAEA says

A shelter construction covers the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 27, 2021.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that Russian troops that took over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant have handed it over to the Ukrainians.

Multiple convoys of Russian troops in the area have moved back toward the Russian side of the border.

The Russian forces returned control of the Chornobyl plant to the Ukrainians.

The agency has not been able to confirm reports of Russian forces receiving high doses of radiation while in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

The Russian troops moved two convoys toward Belarus, while a third convoy left the city of Slavutych, where many of the nuclear plant's staff live, according to the IAEA.

The IAEA statement said that there are still some Russian forces on the Chornobyl site but that they are preparing to leave.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a press briefing that the US had seen indications that some Russian forces were leaving the Chernobyl plant facility.

They are leaving to the north to go back to Belarus. Kirby said that indications are not completely clear at this time.