"Very worrying": director of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant apparently kidnapped by Russia
Created: 2022-10-02 20:02
By: Lucas Maier
An armed Russian soldier at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
(Archive photo) © IMAGO/Konstantin Mihalchevskiy
In the Ukraine war, the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia comes into focus again.
Because there is no trace of the director of the nuclear power plant.
Enerhodar - Since the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions, at least a "tactical" nuclear strike by Russia seems increasingly likely to many.
Not only Vladimir Putin himself is threatening nuclear weapons more and more directly, Chechen dictator Kadyrov has also recently called for their use.
However, the current nuclear weapons debate is pushing a completely different nuclear threat out of the public eye: the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
There is still no all-clear here, as the Ukrainian nuclear authority
Energoatom
recently announced.
War in Ukraine: Russia occupies largest nuclear power plant in Europe
The nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the start of the war.
Again and again it was reported that the nuclear power plant had been shelled.
Recently, however, things have become quieter around the power plant.
At the beginning of September, the nuclear power plant was finally shut down.
In addition to the Russian occupiers, employees of the Ukrainian nuclear authority
Energoatom
are also in the power plant to ensure nuclear and radiation safety.
But now there is new, worrying news.
War in Ukraine: Director General of Zaporizhia NPP apparently arrested by Russian troops
On Friday (September 30), the general director, Ihor Murashov, was reportedly captured by Russian troops,
Energoatom
reports.
At around 4 p.m. local time, Murashov was arrested on his way to the nearby town of Enerhodar.
He is said to have been taken out of the vehicle blindfolded and then taken to an unknown location, according to Petro Kotin, the head of
Energoatom
.
"The Director General of Zaporizhia NPP Ihor Murashov has primary and sole responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety of Zaporizhia NPP," Kotin said in a statement.
He also spoke of a "nuclear act of terrorism" by the Russian armed forces and called on the international nuclear authority to act.
"There is no knowledge of his fate," said Kotin recently.
Ukraine war: Russia's actions are internationally condemned
Meanwhile, the Russian side confirmed the arrest of the nuclear power plant boss.
The authorities informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday (October 1), as reported by the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
The action is said to be a temporary arrest, said an IAEA spokesman in Vienna.
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According to Russia, the aim is for the head of the nuclear power plant to answer various questions.
The arrest of the director general was criticized internationally.
French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, condemned the arrest and stressed that Ukrainian personnel had to be replaced in order to ensure security.
Zaporizhia nuclear plant and the Ukraine war: Grossi expresses serious security concerns
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, has meanwhile also spoken to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, about the incident, as he announced on the short message service Twitter.
In the conversation, Grossi assured that the IAEA was "sparing no effort to ensure the release of the director of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant who was kidnapped by Russia".
"Such a detention of a plant employee would be very worrying in itself, but also because of the psychological effects and the pressure on the rest of the staff, which is detrimental to nuclear safety," the IAEA director-general classified the Russian action.
The arrest has had an adverse effect on at least two of the seven nuclear safety pillars.
(Lucas Maier)
