Russia detained the director general of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Friday, and his location was not known, the company that operates the plant said in a statement.
The site’s director general, Igor Murashov, is responsible for nuclear and radiation safety, according to the statement from Energoatom, the Ukrainian national energy company. His detention poses a threat to the facility’s operation, the company added.
The plant was taken by Russian forces in March but is run by Ukrainian engineers. Fighting near the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, has raised international concern about an accident. Shelling has at times caused the plant to be disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid, which Ukraine’s energy minister has said put critical cooling systems at risk of relying solely on emergency backup power.
The car that Murashov was in was stopped on the road leading to the plant around 4 p.m. Friday, and he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, the statement said.
Energoatom called on Russia to return Murashov and urged nuclear security officials including Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to work on his release.
Grossi said in a statement Saturday that Murashov’s detention created a dangerous situation at the plant, since he oversees operational procedures, including those related to safety and security.
“His absence from duty in this way also has an immediate and serious impact on decision-making in ensuring the safety and security of the plant,” Grossi said. He added the director’s sudden arrest also put a psychological strain on the rest of the plant’s staff.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry called in a statement for Russia to immediately release Murashov and urged the IAEA to take “decisive measures.”
The IAEA said on Saturday that it had “sought clarification from the Russian authorities” about the situation and had been informed that Murashov was “temporarily detained to answer questions.” It added that it had no further information on his detention.
The agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, has had two inspectors at the plant since September. It said in a statement Friday that a series of land mine explosions near the plant in recent days had jeopardized safety and security at the facility.
The latest blast, the sixth reported in a week, damaged a low-voltage cable outside the fence perimeter, according to the agency. The explosion was close to a nitrogen-oxygen facility and indirectly damaged a voltage transformer at one of the reactors, the statement said. Earlier in the week, the agency said the land mines appeared to have been set off by animals.
Both Ukrainian and Russian military forces have accused each other of using the specter of nuclear disaster in brinkmanship in the war by waging attacks around the plant. Grossi said in a statement that he was continuing efforts to establish a security zone around the plant.
The nuclear agency did not immediately comment on Murashov.
The plant is in the region of Zaporizhzhia, which is part of the area of eastern and southern Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin of Russia moved to illegally annex on Friday.
Ukrainian officials have noted the fatigue and stress of Ukrainian control room employees, saying that Russian soldiers have subjected them to harsh interrogations, including torture with electrical shocks, suspecting them of sabotage or of informing the Ukrainian military about activities at the plant.
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