Russian authorities coerce Ukrainian nuclear plant workers

The Russian authorities are intensifying their actions towards Ukrainian citizens working at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. As stated by HUR, the Russians are attempting to coerce Ukrainian employees into accepting Russian passports and entering into contracts with the Russian energy titan, Rosatom. Military intelligence reports suggest that the plan of the Russian occupiers is for several hundred people employed at the power plant to receive passports and sign contracts with Rosatom by the end of the current year.

A report from Ukrainian military intelligence indicates that the power plant employees are experiencing significant psychological duress. Without any prior warning, some employees have been denied access to their workplaces, with their passes nullified. The occupiers are also striving to instill mistrust amongst the workers by creating special channels on the messaging app Telegram to report suspicious activities.

HUR has also revealed that there is growing discontent among workers who were brought in from Russia. The cause is unfulfilled promises given to them by the Russian authorities. Instead of the initially promised two months, they are now required to work in the occupied power plant for as much as six months or more. The reason lying behind this is the difficulty in locating qualified specialists in Russia who can replace them.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the most extensive of its kind in Europe, was seized by Russian forces on March 4 of the preceding year. Since then, it has been sporadically bombarded and severed from power supplies.