The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, announced on Monday the release of the director of the Zaporizhia plant.
“I welcome the release of Igor Murashov, general director of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia. I received confirmation that Mr. Murashov was safely reunited with his family,” Rafael Grossi said in a tweet.
Russia arrested Igor Murachov on Friday, according to the Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom. The reason for this arrest is unknown. The plant has been occupied since March 4 by Russian troops and has been the target many times in recent months of bombing attacks that Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of.
Stopped by a Russian patrol
According to his boss, Petro Kotin, Murachov was arrested by a “Russian patrol” around 4:00 pm while traveling from the plant to the Russian-controlled city of Ernogodar.
Still according to him, the vehicle carrying the plant director was stopped and the latter was extracted from the car and then “driven, blindfolded, to an unknown destination.” Murashov is the sole nuclear safety officer at the plant, Petro Kotin said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the “illegal detention” of Igor Murachov.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, has been occupied since the beginning of March by Russian troops, but it is not far from the demarcation line between the territories controlled by Kyiv and those occupied by Moscow. It is located in the Zaporizhia region, one of the Ukrainian territories officially annexed by Russia on Friday.
A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the plant in September. The UN agency advocates the establishment of a security zone around the site.
Source: BFM TV
