Petro Kotine, at the head of the Ukrainian operator, denounces “a regime of police harassment of the personnel” of the plant under the control of the Russian army.
The boss of the Ukrainian operator of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, Petro Kotine, denounces the abuses perpetrated by the Russian forces on the personnel. “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“, he said in an interview with AFP
According to him, two people were notablybeaten to deathby Russian forces, which have controlled this nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, since March. “A diver was captured, then ended up in hospital unconscious. He died three hours later“, while a bombardment killed another employee and a driver, he continues.
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“The Russians are looking for pro-Ukrainians there and persecuting them. People are psychologically broken“, explains Petro Kotin, at the head of the public company Energoatom, which manages the Ukrainian power stations. “We do not know where about ten people are, they were taken away and since then we have no information on their whereabouts.he continued.
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.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Friday a “total power outagein the town of Energodar, close to the plant, which “jeopardizes the safety of operations“. The IAEA, which has two observers on site, had proposed on Tuesday to create a “safe area” on the site. kyiv, for its part, wants an international peacekeeping mission on the site.
“In captivity»
According to Petro Kotin, Ukraine wants full demilitarization of the site, not a formula introducing some form of joint control of the site with Moscow, which would be “unacceptable“. “We will insist on the creation of a demilitarized zone around the plant, in particular with the participation of peacekeeping organizations, the United Nations and other“, he specified. The international community fears a nuclear accident.
In addition to some 200 Ukrainian employees, Russia has installed engineers from Rosatom, the Russian atomic agency, on site. Petro Kotine considers its 200 employees to be “in captivity“. “IAEA says (being) in such a psychologically difficult position is a violation of nuclear security rules, personnel must work under normal conditions“, he hammered.
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Currently disconnected from the electricity grid after several fires, the plant has only one out of six reactors in operation, at a reduced power level. It has emergency diesel generators to ensure the safety and cooling of the facilities.
According to Petro Kotine, this last reactor may also be shut down soon, if the lines of communication with the Ukrainian network are not restored. “The current situation at the plant is very difficult“, he summarizes. “It is necessary to stop the shelling because the lines are restored, but then they are damaged againhe says.