A statement on Saturday by the Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom said Russia has detained the chief of the nuclear power facility in Zaporizhzhia, which is in control of Moscow since it captured the region.
Europe’s largest nuclear power station, Zaporizhzhia, has been the focal point of tensions in recent weeks as Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of conducting strikes on or around the plant, sparking worries of a nuclear catastrophe.
In a statement posted on social media, Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin said, Ihor Murashov was stopped by a “Russian patrol” on Friday at around 16:00 local time (1300 GMT) as he travelled from the facility to the Moscow-controlled city of Energodar.
He said that once Murashov’s automobile was halted, he was dragged out and “with his eyes blindfolded, he was driven in an unknown direction.”
At the Zaporizhzhia facility, Murashov “bears the main and exclusive responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety,” Kotin continued.
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The nuclear facility is situated in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, which Russia annexed on Friday along with Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kherson.
Shelling near the facility has prompted demands for demilitarising the region around nuclear facilities in Ukraine from Kyiv and its Western supporters.
Early in September, a monitoring team from the IAEA went to Zaporizhzhia.
(with inputs from agencies)
