IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called on Saturday for the release of the director-general of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ihor Murashov, who was detained by a Russian patrol on Friday.
Stressing that Murashov’s detention has a very significant impact on him and nuclear safety and security standards, Grossi expressed the hope that he’ll be returned to his family safely and promptly and will be able to resume his important functions at the nuclear plant.
On Saturday, the state-owned company in charge of the plant, Enerhodar, and the International Atomic Energy Agency Murashov said that Russia had confirmed the arrest, noting that Murashov was temporarily detained to answer questions.
The IAEA pointed out it has been in contact with relevant authorities seeking clarifications on Murashov’s temporary detention in line with its nuclear safety mandate and that hopes for a prompt and satisfactory resolution of this matter.
According to Petro Kotin, the head of Energoatom, Murashov was arrested on his way from the nuclear facility to the town of Enerhodar and whisked him away to an unknown location, adding there was no immediate word on his fate, which is reigniting fears over the facility’s security.
Murashov, who was appointed to run the Zaporizhzhia plant several days before Russian troops rolled into Ukraine, coordinated all the work at the plant, had access to security codes, made sure protocols were being followed, and reported to Kyiv.
He was strongly against handing the plant over to Russia’s state-run nuclear energy giant that operates Russian nuclear plants, Rosatom, but Energoatom’s spokespeople could not confirm this was the reason for his kidnapping.
IAEA announced that Grossi is expected to hold talks in Moscow and Kyiv next week on the creation of a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia plant.
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