LONDON (REUTERS) - Russian officials have attempted to enter and take full operational control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the head of Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said on Friday (March 11).

Energoatom chief Petro Kotin said Russian forces had told the plant's Ukrainian staff that the plant now belonged to Russian state nuclear company Rosatom after its capture last week.

Ten officials from Rosatom, including two senior engineers, then unsuccessfully attempted to enter the plant and take control of operations, he said in a televised interview.

"On the territory (of the plant) there are around 500 Russian soldiers with automatic weapons … our staff are in an extremely bad psychological state," Kotin said.