Petro Kotin, the head of the Ukrainian nuclear company “Energoatom”, condemns the abuse committed by the Russian military against the personnel of the Zaporizhzhia station, News.ro reports with reference to AFP.

“With the occupation, a regime of police oppression of personnel was gradually established. Today’s situation is very difficult, with torture, beatings, kidnappings,” he said in an interview with AFP.

According to Kotin, two people were “beaten to death” by Russian troops who have been controlling this nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, since March.

“A diver was captured and taken to the hospital unconscious. He died three hours later,” he continued.

“People are destroyed psychologically. We don’t know anything about the fate of about ten people.”

“The Russians are looking for pro-Ukrainians there and persecuting them. People are psychologically destroyed. We don’t know where about ten people are, they were taken out and since then we don’t have any information about their whereabouts,” says Petro Kotin, head of SE Energoatom.

Russia systematically denies abuses in Ukraine, accusing the Ukrainian authorities of committing crimes against the population, using civilians as human shields.

The Zaporizhzhia power plant, located in southern Ukraine, approximately 50 kilometers from the city of the same name, is regularly bombed.

According to Petro Kotin, Ukraine wants the total demilitarization of the nuclear installation, and not a formula that introduces a form of joint control with Moscow, which would be “unacceptable.”

“We will insist on the creation of a demilitarized zone around the plant, including the participation of peacekeeping organizations, the UN and others,” he said.

Russian engineers from Rosatom were brought to Zaporizhzhia. “200 Ukrainian employees are in captivity”

In addition to approximately 200 Ukrainian employees, Russia has deployed engineers from Rosatom, Russia’s atomic agency. Petro Kotin believes that his 200 employees are “held captive.”

“The IAEA says that (staying) in such a psychologically difficult situation is a violation of nuclear safety rules, personnel must work in normal conditions,” he added.

Currently offline after several fires, the plant has only one of its six reactors operating at a reduced power level. The installation also has emergency diesel generators designed to ensure safety and cooling of the installations.

According to Kotin, this last reactor may be closed in the near future if the connection with the Ukrainian power system is not restored.

“The current situation at the plant is very difficult. We need to stop the bombing, because the lines are being restored, and then they are damaged again,” the Ukrainian official concluded.

Read also:

• The International Atomic Energy Agency calls for the creation of a “safety zone” around the Zaporizhzhia NPP
• Russia “regrets” that there are no accusations against Ukraine in the IAEA report (Ambassador to the UN)

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