Russia's Rosatom takes over Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuke plant

A top Ukrainian official on Saturday claimed that the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which was captured by Russian forces on March 4, has been taken over by Rosatom, Moscow's state nuclear company.

In a social media post, Petro Kotin, chief of Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom, said: "Representatives of the so-called military-civil administration came to the station and gathered the management. They did not give their names, they only said that they were representatives of the military-civil administration.

"They told the management that it (plant) was now a Rosatom station, and it no longer belonged to Ukraine. They said that they are here for the long term and it is now their territory, so the nuclear power plant must operate in accordance with Rosatom decrees."

It was earlier reported that Rosatom, which operates several hundred Russian nuclear energy enterprises, is involved in the capture of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, said the Ukrayinska Pravda newspaper.

"There were eight other people trying to take the management of Zaporizhzhya NPP into their own hands. They were not allowed there. However, all these cases demonstrate that Rosatom also took part in this aggression, and is essentially raiding now, trying to seize and control the nuclear power plant," he said.

According to Kotin, Energoatom has already prepared an appeal to relevant international organisations, including the IAEA, to draw attention to the role and participation of Rosatom in aggressive actions against Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Addressing the situation with Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was also seized by Russian forces, Kotin noted that there were many facilities on its territory, which contain radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel.

"Theoretically, anything can be done with this nuclear material. It is currently within the limits and structures in which it should be, so that it does not leak into the environment... But if the invaders want to, of course, they can blow it up or something, and it will be spread throughout the territory. Then everything depends on the direction of the wind.

"Of course, it is suicide for them, too, if they dare to do so," Kotin said.