- The head of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was apparently taken hostage by Russian forces.
- The incident happened only an hour after Russia claimed the region as part of the Russian Federation.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his troops will keep fighting Russia’s occupation.
The Ukrainian company that makes nuclear power said that Russian forces had taken the head of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) and were holding him in an unknown place.
According to Energoatom, Russian forces stopped the head of the power station, Ihor Murashov, in his car around 4 p.m. on Friday. He was then blindfolded and taken into custody.
The apparent kidnapping happened only an hour after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the region of Zaporizhzhia, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson, as part of the Russian Federation.
Kyiv and Western countries have said they don’t agree with the move and won’t recognize Russia’s claim to Ukraine’s land.
Moscow hasn’t said anything about the ZNPP official being taken hostage, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its staff at the plant knew about it and had told Russian authorities.
Since early September, IAEA staff have been living at the nuclear power station. They went there to assess the level of threat and damage to the ZNPP after several missile strikes.
Officials have been saying for a long time that fighting needs to stop right away near the ZNPP, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. They are worried that the integrity of the plant could be damaged, which could cause a radiation disaster.
Since early March, Russia has been in control of the plant, but Ukrainian technicians have kept the power station running.
As a safety measure because shelling was still going on, the last two reactors were turned off in September.
As Russia tries to claim the Zaporizhzhia region, it is not clear what its next plan is for the power plant.
Petro Kotin, the president of Energoatom, asked that the director general be released right away. He said, “His detention puts the safety of Ukraine and Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant at risk.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his troops will keep fighting Russia’s occupation until all of Ukraine is back in order and Russian troops leave.
Ukraine’s troops are making progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, which are in the country’s northeast.
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