SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Ukraine says Russia 'kidnapped' two nuclear plant workers
Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct 18 (AFP) Oct 18, 2022
Ukraine's state nuclear energy agency on Tuesday accused Russia of detaining two senior employees at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

In a statement on social media, Energoatom said Russian forces on Monday "kidnapped" the head of information technology Oleg Kostyukov and the plant's assistant general director Oleg Osheka and "took them to an unknown destination".

Energoatom called on International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi "to make every effort" to secure their release.

Russian troops captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant at the beginning of March, in the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine has recently accused Russia of detaining several of the plant's employees.

Last week Energoatom said Russia detained and mistreated the plant's deputy director general for human resources, Valeriy Martyniuk.

In a statement released late Tuesday the IAEA, which has experts at the nuclear site, announced that Martyniuk had been released.

Grossi welcomed his release while expressing "deep concern" at the two new detentions at the nuclear plant.

"This is another concerning development that I sincerely hope will be resolved swiftly," he said.

The IAEA statement said that Grossi was continuing consultations on securing a "nuclear safety and security protection zone" around the site.

In late September, the agency said Russia detained the chief of the power station, Ihor Murashov, for several days before releasing him on October 3.

The nuclear plant -- Europe's largest atomic facility -- is located in Russian-held territory of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, which Moscow claims to have annexed together with three other territories in Ukraine: Donetsk, Lugansk and Kherson.

Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for months over shelling near the Russian-held facility, sparking fears of a nuclear disaster and spurring calls to de-militarise areas around atomic facilities in Ukraine.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
Sun boundary map tracks shifting Alfven surface over solar cycle
Mission Space to fly second space weather payload with Rogue Space

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Molecular contacts push tandem solar cells to 31.4 percent efficiency
Asymmetric side chain design boosts thick film organic solar cell efficiency
New analysis links lead cooled reactor corrosion to steel microstructure

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.