Russian authorities say that they have detained two workers at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, where international officials have voiced alarm that fighting could result in a catastrophic accident.
The detained workers "passed information about the location of [Russian] troops and equipment on the station's territory,” Russia’s National Guard said in a statement on August 24.
The statement provided no proof or evidence, and did not provide further details. There was no immediate reaction to the allegations by Ukrainian officials.
The plant has been under Russian control since March 4, nearly two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian engineers have been allowed to continue operating the plant under Russian supervision.
Russia’s National Guard, a domestic police force controlled by a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been deployed in parts of occupied Ukraine to help impose order and root out dissent.
A third person was also arrested at the plant on suspicion of providing Ukrainian armed forces with information about the movement of Russian military equipment in the area, the statement said.
The Zaporizhzhya facility is Europe's largest nuclear power plant. It’s been the site of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent weeks, sparking fears of a nuclear disaster.
Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of shelling the plant.
The United Nations has offered to help facilitate a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, but Moscow has insisted that the inspectors travel to the plant via Russian-controlled territory rather than Ukraine proper.
Ukraine’s nuclear agency, Enerhoatom, said last week that Russia was planning to disconnect the facility from Ukraine’s power grid, a move that would deprive the rest of the country of a major source of electricity.
