The Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom on Friday accused Russian forces of kidnapping three workers from the Zaporiyia power plant, the largest in Europe, and called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to «make every effort» to free these people «held captive by Russian terrorists».
«Racists have intensified their repression against employees of the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant,» Energoatom has said through his Telegram account, where he has detailed that «the Russian Army broke into the premises of the Department of Social Programs, where, in the presence of workers, they hit the head of the department, Oleksi Trubenkov, and his ‘number two’, Yuri Androsov, on the head.»
«After a brutal beating, the invaders took them away from the premises and transferred them to whereabouts unknown. In addition, the racists detained and threw into the basement the chief of staff, Konstantin Beiner, who is a person directly responsible for nuclear and radiation safety,» he said, without Russia commenting on these allegations.
Thus, Energoatom has emphasized that «the occupants are trying to gain the loyalty of the brave pro-Ukrainian personnel at the plant by increasing the number of employees transferred to the fake Organization on Operations at the Zaporiyia Nuclear Power Plant, which is managed by Rosatom, to inform (Russian President Vladimir) Putin about the support of Ukrainian personnel for Russia’s fascist and terrorist actions.»
«The invaders cannot do this because the personnel resist, so they turn into policemen and jailers, intensifying their attacks on patriotic workers who still want to work for Ukraine,» Energoatom reviewed, calling on IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and the international community to work for the release of the detainees.
The Zaporiyia plant has six reactors commissioned between 1984 and 1995. It has been controlled by Russian forces since March this year, shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24 on Putin’s orders. The partially occupied Zaporiyia region was annexed in September along with Donetsk, Kherson and Lugansk.