Russian forces controlling Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant have killed two workers at the plant and detained and ill-treated dozens more, the head of Ukraine’s Atomic Energy Agency told AFP on Friday.
The Zaporizhia plant – the largest in Europe – was captured by Russian troops in March. A surge in fighting over it in recent weeks has raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe, with both Moscow and Kyiv blaming each other for the escalation.
“A regime of harassment of staff was gradually established,” Petro Kotin said after the Russian takeover.
“Two people were beaten to death. We don’t know where about ten people are now, they were taken away (by the Russians) and after that we have no information about their whereabouts,” Kotin said, adding that about 200 people were arrested.
He described the current situation at the plant as “very difficult” and called “torture” of employees and “beatings of employees”.
“The Russians are looking for and persecuting pro-Ukrainian people. People are mentally broken,” he said in an interview with AFP reporters at his Kyiv office.
The frequent shelling of the facility – including the town of Energodar, where the facility is located – means staff have been trying to ensure safe passage for family members to leave the area, Kotin said.
“Two people on the premises of the plant were wounded during the shelling – a woman and a man – on separate occasions,” said Kotin, who is wearing a military-style jacket.
“But people understand that the nuclear safety of the plant depends on them, so the employees return to Energodar and continue to work at the plant,” he added.
– Demilitarization zone required –
The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) dispatched a 14-strong mission to the facility last week and released a report after the inspection.
Kotin said it described difficult psychological working conditions at the plant that ultimately amounted to “a violation of nuclear radiation safety.”
“This situation must be corrected as soon as possible,” he told the AFP news agency.
In its report, the IAEA called for “the immediate establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the facility, as it faces an “unsustainable” situation.
But Kotin said there was room for interpretation there.
“If it is about the demilitarization of the nuclear power plant, we fully support it. If it’s about creating some security zones with joint control together with the Russians, then of course that’s an unacceptable decision for us,” Kotin said.
“We will insist on creating a demilitarized zone around the plant, including with the participation of peacekeepers,” he added.
Kotin also said Ukraine is insisting that Russia remove military hardware from the facility and that employees of Russia’s Rosatom nuclear agency also leave the area.
“For this, international partners must put great pressure on Russia to meet the conditions set by the Ukrainian authorities and the IAEA.”
Kotin added that all power lines connected to the plant were severed as a result of the shelling and the only reactor that is still on is “operating at very low power”.
If those power lines aren’t restored, Kotin said, the station will go into blackout mode and be able to rely only on diesel engines “to cool the core material.”
The head of the IAEA reiterated the point on Friday, saying nearby shelling caused a power outage at Energodar and threatened the safe operation of the plant.
Director-General Rafael Grossi described the recent shelling as a “dramatic development” in a statement on social media.
“This is totally unacceptable. It cannot stand,” he added.
“It is necessary to renew the communication line with the Ukrainian power grid as soon as possible and to supply it with electricity from external energy sources,” emphasized Kotin.
