ZURICH (Reuters) – The head of the UN nuclear supervisory agency has called for the release of the director general of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying his detention posed a security threat.
A Russian patrol detained Ihor Murashov on Friday, the state company responsible for the plant said on Saturday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Russia had confirmed the arrest.
“IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed the hope that Mr Murashov will return to his family safely and quickly and can resume his important duties at the plant,” the agency tweeted late on Saturday.
The agency is in contact with relevant officials seeking clarification on the temporary detention, which it said had a “very significant impact” on Murashov and nuclear safety standards.
Grossi is expected to talk to Moscow and Kiev next week about creating a protection area around the Zaporizhzhia plant, the agency said on Saturday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday that Grossi assured him in a telephone call that the IAEA would spare no “efforts to secure the release of the ZNPP director held by Russia”.
(By Michael Shields; additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev)
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