“I welcome the release of Ihor Murashov,” IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said in a tweet. “I have received confirmation that Mr Murashov has returned to his family safely.”
Murashov was arrested by Russian patrols on his way from the nuclear facility to the nearby town of Zaporizhzhia on Friday afternoon, according to Ukraine's state-owned energy company Energoatom.
Energoatom head Petro Kotin had said earlier that Mr Murashov’s abduction and detention was part of efforts by Moscow to take control of the facility and incorporate it into state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
Mr Kotin said the detention came to light soon after Russia had announced the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – an act in violation of international law. He said Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom had sent staff to Ukraine try to transfer control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station to Russia. He said this could be the reason Mr Murashov had been detained.
The IAEA said in a statement Saturday that Mr Murashov’s detainment risked jeopardizing the safe operation of the plant.
The IAEA said Grossi was continuing efforts aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security zone around Zaporizhzhia “as soon as possible”. He is expected to travel to Kyiv and Moscow this week.
The six-unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear station, the largest in Europe, has been held by Russian forces since early March, but its Ukrainian staff are continuing to operate the plant.
