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The president of the Ukrainian state company "Energoatom" Petro Kotin said today that he is taking over the leadership of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and urged the workers at the plant not to sign any documents with the Russian occupiers of the nuclear site, reports BTA.

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"All further decisions regarding the operation of the plant will be made directly at the Energoatom head office," Kotin said in Telegram. "We will continue to work according to Ukrainian legislation, within the Ukrainian energy system, within Energoatom ", he said.

Russia seized the plant in early March, shortly after it invaded Ukraine, but Ukrainian staff at the plant continued to keep it running.

Since then, Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the site, raising the risk of a nuclear disaster.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP will operate under Russian supervision after the annexation

The Russian Foreign Ministry said today that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will operate under Moscow's supervision after President Vladimir Putin formally incorporated the Zaporizhzhia region into Russia.

"The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is already on the territory of the Russian Federation and should be managed accordingly under the supervision of our respective agencies," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.

So far, it is not clear how Russia plans to manage the plant and whether it will try to put its own personnel there.

Russia annexed the Zaporozhye region and three more Ukrainian regions after holding the so-called

referendums condemned by Kyiv and the West as illegal and coercive.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said yesterday that the head of the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Ukraine, who was detained over the weekend, will not return to his post.

According to Kyiv, a Russian patrol detained Igor Murashov on Friday as he traveled from the plant to the town of Energodar, where many of its workers live.

Ukraine described his detention as an act of terrorism.

Russian-appointed authorities in Energodar said Murashov coordinated terrorist activity at the NPP and in the city.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Murashov had been released, but did not specify if or when he could return to headquarters.

Grossi said today that he will visit Kyiv and Moscow in the coming days.

He also did not rule out the possibility of traveling again to the Zaporizhia NPP, where he was in September, TASS reported.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Zaporozhye NPP

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