Nuclear plant staff held hostage by Russia, Ukraine minister warns Europe

In an attempt to justify the Ukraine invasion, the staff at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant – “held hostage for four days” – has been compelled by the Russian troops to record an address, the country’s energy minister Herman Halushchenko alleged in a video address on Wednesday, calling it another fake in the Kremlin’s “propaganda machinery”.

In his video, he also gave a warning to Europe – “If a breakdown happens, Europeans will be forced to switch from the comfort of their homes to radiation shelters. We must stop Russia’s nuclear terrorism together. We must do it now – until it’s too late.”

The Zaporizhzhya facility is one of its kind, and the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Last week, a fire broke out at the premises amid Russian shelling, sending alarm bells across the world capital as Moscow was accused of nuclear terror. Hours after the blaze, Kyiv said, the nuclear power plant had been seized by the Kremlin.

“Russian occupation forces torture the operating staff of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to our information, occupiers compelled the plant’s management to record an address that they plan to use for propaganda purposes,” the minister is heard saying in the video.

“(The) operating staff of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant have been held hostage for 4 days. There are about 500 Russian soldiers and 50 units of heavy equipment inside the station. The employees of the station are physically and psychologically exhausted. We call our international partners to take all measures to withdraw Russian occupation forces from captured nuclear objects and close the sky over Ukraine,” he appeals.

The plea comes as Russian offensive in the war-hit country completes two weeks. Three rounds of negotiations have yielded no results. The foreign ministers of both the country are meeting in Turkey on Wednesday.