UKRAINIAN forces are battling to keep control of Europe's biggest power plant, as Russian troops lay siege to the site.

Vladimir Putin's forces have escalated their efforts to seize the site in southern Ukraine, despite a valiant effort from Ukrainian civilians and soldiers to slow the Russian advance.

Kremlin troops have reportedly ramped up the battle for the plant after President Putin was left infuriated by his army's slow progress.

Workers at the plant in Enerhodar, 33 miles southwest of Ukraine's sixth-biggest city Zaporizhzhia, fear severe damage to the installation could trigger a nuclear disaster.

Terrifying video shows black smoke rising from the outskirts of the city, amid fears some Russian soldiers have already broken through the Ukrainian line.

Anton Herashchenko shared the grim development in an online post.

Enerhodar's mayor Dmytro Orlov has urged people not to leave their homes and warned a major Russian convoy was approaching the city.

Another adviser, Vadym Denysenko, described the situation as "alarming", and said Russian troops were entering the area where plant workers live.

Enerhodar, on the left bank of the Dnieper River and the Khakovka Reservoir, is a major energy hub, and the nuclear plant accounts for a quarter of Ukraine's total power generation.

Previously, a Ukrainian spokesperson warned Putin's actions "could lead to another nuclear disaster, affecting the entire world."

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They added: "The city of Enerhodar, housing the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, is preparing for a battle with the invaders.

"If shells hit near the nuclear power plant, they will damage transformers, turbines, and other equipment that ensures the plant's safety.

"To prevent this from happening, the entrance to Enerhodar is guarded by the brave station workers and military."

Pictures earlier on Thursday showed brave Ukrainians forming a human barricade in front of the nuclear plant to prevent Russian troops from seizing it.

Hundreds of people lined the road to Enerhodar after Kyiv warned Russia risked creating "a new Chernobyl" if it goes ahead with an attack.

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Local people were joined by workers brandishing Ukrainian flags in barricading the nuclear power station in Enerhodar on Wednesday.

Government official Anton Gerashchenko said Ukrainians would fight to the last man to defend one of the country's main energy sources.

"The city where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located is preparing for a battle with the invaders," he said.

"The nuclear power plant is guarded by the heroes of the National Guard of Ukraine.

"They won't give up! There will be a fight. Shells will fire next to the nuclear power plant.

"They will not be able to break through the concrete shell of the reactor, but they will definitely damage transformers, turbines and other equipment necessary for the safety of the nuclear power plant."

He eerily added: "An accident can happen like at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant or the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

"Russian generals – think again!"

The head of the UN atomic energy watchdog, the IAEA, expressed "grave concern" that invading Russian troops were operating close to Zaporizhzhia.

Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said an accident at the plant would "have severe consequences for public health and the environment".

It comes days after Putin's forces captured the Chernobyl reactor on Friday.

Guards fought back as officials warned a direct hit on waste stores could spread a radioactive dust cloud over the whole of Europe.

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Data from the automated radiation monitoring suggests the control levels of gamma radiation dose rate in the exclusion zone have surpassed safe levels.

Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate blamed the spike on a "disturbance" caused by Russian forces rolling through, saying the large amount of heavy military equipment in the exclusion zone had unsettled the topsoil at the sensitive site.

Gerashchenko said there was still time for Russia to avoid "a new Chernobyl".

He said: "Radiation does not know nationalities, one does not spare anyone!”

A message from Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin said columns of Russian military equipment and forces were approaching with "shells exploding near the nuclear power plant".

He said: "We call on the IAEA to intervene to prevent occupying forces in the 30-kilometre zone around our nuclear power plants" in Enerhodar and in Voznesensk, Mykolaiv region.

He also called on the Chernobyl reactor to be handed back to Ukrainian troops.

On Monday, Russia's Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian media as saying his forces had "complete control" of the Zaporizhzhia plant and had men working there.

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