Management at a seized Ukrainian nuclear plant is working at gunpoint, the head of the state-owned nuclear power generator said Friday – while the staff reportedly warned that Russian forces are seeking to “blackmail the whole of Europe” by planting explosives at the site.

“The invaders entered the territory of the nuclear power plant, took control of personnel and management,” Petro Kotin, president of Energoatom, said on Telegram about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest.

“Currently, there is no connection and the station management works at gunpoint,” he added.

Kotin said each of the six reactors at the site contain fuel, while pre-reactor pools are storing spent nuclear fuel, the irradiated byproduct of the reactors, according to CNN.

“If a shell hits, this will lead to a nuclear disaster,” he warned.

The official reportedly said that since the attack began, the power units at the plant also have been switched to a safe mode.  

In a statement, Energoatom said the shelling was “a violation of the nuclear and radiation safety of Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which could have serious and tragic consequences for the entire world.”

Meanwhile, staff at the plant in Enerhodar sent a message to Ukrainian media and the government warning that the Russian occupiers are laying down explosives at the site, Fox News reported.

“They will be trying to mine the nuclear power plant and blackmail the whole of Europe,” the workers wrote in the message Friday morning, according to a translation provided to the network by Misha Gannytskyi, head of the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News.

“Kadyrovtsy attacked the power plant,” another message reads, referring to soldiers that look like the forces of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Many Chechens are fighting in Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s army.

“Currently there is a battle between them and the National Guard of Ukraine. This is Kadyrovtsy group for sure,” says the message published by the UNIAN, according to Fox News.</p>

Ukrainian officials fear that the Russians “can use this fact that they control the nuclear power plant to organize pressure on Ukraine, they can use that station like a big hostage,” Gannytskyi told the outlet.

The plant personnel warned “that they are putting explosive materials near the buildings of the nuclear plant to provide pressure on the Ukrainian army, people.”Gannytskyi added: “We can say that Putin already launched the nuclear war. We here in Ukraine are curious: what else Putin need to do before Western countries will be ready to protect our sky?”

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In a video address Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia deliberately targeted his country’s largest nuclear plant — saying it “could have been the end of history for Ukraine and Europe.”

“Russian tank operators knew what they were shooting at, they directly targeted the station,” Zelensky warned, according to a translation by the Kyiv Independent.

He said that a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant could have been at least six times worst than at Chernobyl — addressing the people of Russia as he asked, “Did you forget?

“If you remember it, you can’t stay silent. Tell your leadership you want to live,” he said.

But Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday blamed the attack at the site on Ukrainian saboteurs, according to Reuters.

“Last night on the territory adjacent to the power plant, an attempt was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to carry out a monstrous provocation,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog offered to travel to Chernobyl to negotiate with Ukraine and Russia and ensure the security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites.

“I have indicated to both the Russian Federation and Ukraine my availability… to travel to Chernobyl as soon as possible,” Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters, Agence France-Presse reported.

“Both sides are considering” the possibility, he added.

On Feb. 24, Russian forces seized the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which left hundreds dead and spread radioactive contamination across Europe.

Grossi said he hoped to discuss with both sides a “framework” to safeguard the security and functioning of the Ukrainian nuclear facilities.

Grossi said the structure hit at Zaporizhzhia was not part of the plant’s reactors but an adjacent training facility where two security workers had been injured.

“There has been no release of radioactive material,” Grossi said, adding that the systems for measuring radiation at the site “are fully functional.”

Of the six reactors at the site, only one is operating at around 60 percent capacity, he said.

One of the reactors had already been undergoing maintenance, two others were in “safety-controlled shutdown” and the last two “were already being held in reserve and are operating in low-power mode,” Grossi added.

On Friday, Western allies condemned Russia for shelling the plant, but pushed back against calls from Kyiv for a no-fly zone to halt the bombardments.

Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels at NATO and the European Union said they were considering additional sanctions to ram up the pressure after hitting Moscow with economic punishment over its invasion.

“Overnight we have also seen reports about the attack against the nuclear power plant,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

“This just demonstrates the recklessness of this war and the importance of ending it and the importance of Russia withdrawing all its troops and engaging good faith in diplomatic efforts,” he said.

“NATO is not part of the conflict. NATO is a defensive alliance, we do not seek war or conflict with Russia,” Stoltenberg added.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said allies “strongly condemn” the attack on Zaporizhzhia and called on Russia to stop its “aggression.”

With Post wires