The boss of the Ukrainian operator of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, Petro Kotin, denounced, Friday, September 9, abuses perpetrated by the Russian forces on the personnel, evoking torture, murders and kidnappings. “With the occupation, a regime of police harassment of staff was gradually put in place. The situation today is very difficult with torture, beatings, kidnappings”said Petro Kotin in an interview with AFP.
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According to him, two people were notably “beaten to death” by Russian forces, which have controlled this nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, since March. “A diver was captured and then ended up in hospital unconscious. He died three hours later”while a bombing killed another employee and a driver, he added, denouncing a persecution of pro-Ukrainians by the Russians. “People are psychologically broken”explained the boss of the public company Energoatom, which manages the Ukrainian power plants.
“We do not know where about ten people are, they were taken away and since then we have no information on their whereabouts”, continued Petro Kotin. Russia systematically denies committing abuses in Ukraine, accusing the Ukrainian authorities of committing crimes against the population, using civilians as human shields.
The Zaporijjia plant, located in southern Ukraine, about fifty kilometers as the crow flies from the city of the same name, is regularly targeted by bombardments, for which kyiv and Moscow deny responsibility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Friday a “total power outage” in the town of Enerhodar, close to the plant, which “compromises the safety of operations”.