KYIV, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Russian patrols have detained the director general of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the state-owned company in charge of the plant said on Saturday. move.
Ihor Murashov was detained around 4pm (1300 GMT) on Friday on his way from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant to the city of Enerhodar, Petro Kotin, head of state-owned Energoatom, said in a statement.
“He was taken out of the car and blindfolded and driven in an unknown direction,” Cotin wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding there was no immediate word on Murasho’s fate.
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Russia has not publicly commented on the matter.
Godin said he had appealed to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Croci to take “all immediate measures for the urgent release” of Murasov.
Asked by Reuters for comment, a spokesman for the IAEA said: “We have contacted the Russian authorities and are requesting further clarifications.” Later on Saturday, the IAEA said it had been informed by Russian authorities that Murashov had been detained for questioning.
“The IAEA has sought clarification from Russian officials and has been informed that the director general of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been temporarily detained to answer questions,” a spokesman said without elaborating.
The Zaporizhzhia plant has been a focal point of Russia’s seven-month invasion of Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of risking a nuclear disaster.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the demilitarization of the area around the plant, which is still worked by Ukrainians.
In his Telegram statement, Kotin said Murashov “assumes the main and exclusive responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety” of the plant and that his detention “affects the safety of the operation of the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe.”
Godin called on Russian forces to “immediately cease acts of nuclear terrorism against the plant’s management and staff” and release Murasov.
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Report of Pavel Polyduke in Kiev; Additional reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich; By William Mallard; Editing by Gareth Jones and David Holmes
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