Ukraine car bomb kills Russia-held nuclear plant worker

An employee at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been killed in a car bomb attack that Ukrainian military intelligence says has punished a "war criminal".

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said the employee - Andrei Korotkiy - had died after a bomb planted under his car went off near his house in the city of Enerhodar, where the plant is located.

Korotkiy worked in the plant's security department, the Committee said.

A criminal case has been opened into his death.

Ukrainian military intelligence published a video of his car exploding and in a statement called Korotkiy a "war criminal" and collaborator, accusing him of repressing Ukrainians and of handing Russia a list of the plant's employees and of then pointing out people with pro-Ukrainian views.

💀 В Енергодарі вибухнув воєнний злочинець ― «начальник фізичної охорони» окупованої ЗАЕС 🔗 https://t.co/hXmU9I71sv pic.twitter.com/5PnH5eZjtV— Defence intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) October 4, 2024

"The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence reminds people that every war criminal will be fairly punished," the Ukrainian agency said on its official Telegram channel.

The plant's authorities condemned Ukrainian authorities for orchestrating the murder.

"This is a horrific, inhumane act," plant director Yuri Chernichuk said, vowing punishment for the attackers.

"An attack on employees ensuring the safety of the nuclear facility is a reckless, outrageous step," he added.

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, soon after they entered Ukraine in February 2022 in what the Kremlin called a "special military operation".

The plant is not currently operating but the reactors still need to be cooled and maintained.

Both sides have regularly accused each other of staging attacks on the plant, which both deny.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has stationed monitors permanently at the plant.

It has urged both sides to refrain from all attacks on it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday he had visited the northern Sumy region, from where Ukraine launched a major incursion into the neighbouring Russian Kursk region.

Almost two months into the surprise operation, Ukrainian troops control swathes of Russian border territory although the pace of the advance has slowed and Russian forces have begun to counterattack.

"It is crucial to understand that the Kursk operation is a really strategic thing, something that adds motivation to our partners, motivation to be with Ukraine, be more decisive and put pressure on Russia," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Shown alongside his top army commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, visiting the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, the president thanked the military for defending Ukraine's territorial integrity.

He said the incursion, which Ukraine says is bringing war back to Russia, "has greatly helped" the country's forces to secure the latest military support packages from allies.

"We need to motivate the whole world and convince them that Ukrainians can be stronger than the enemy," he told the servicemen.

Despite the initial rapid success, the Kursk incursion did not manage to significantly distract Russia from its advances in Ukraine's east.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military said it had pulled back from the hilltop town of Vuhledar in Ukraine to avoid encirclement by Russian troops, which have also closed to within about 7km of the strategic hub of Pokrovsk further north.

Zelenskiy added that he had held a meeting with his military command, which had discussed the front lines, air defences and the energy situation in the Sumy region.

Russia has been pummelling its electricity infrastructure, leading to power cuts.

Separately, Syrskyi said on Facebook that he had recently discussed battlefield and cyber co-operation with General Christopher Cavoli, head of the US European Command, and General Timothy Haugh, head of US Cyber Command.

Syrskyi said he had emphasised the need to strengthen cyber co-operation: "It is important for us to use all available opportunities to achieve superiority over the enemy, both on the battlefield and in cyberspace."

with DPA