Russia is trying to legitimize its presence in the occupied ZNPP.
Former MP David Zhvania died during the shelling in the “gray zone”, 25 kilometers from the occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The politician's death was announced by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
– Gerashchenko noted.
It is reported that the ex-people's deputy died from artillery fire near the checkpoint of the occupiers near the village of Novopokrovka, Zaporozhye region.
It is also noted that the former member of the pro-Ukrainian Our Ukraine party (Victor Yushchenko's Bloc) had Russian citizenship.
An important clarification made by Gerashchenko is that Zhvania was allegedly an unofficial representative of the Russian state corporation for atomic energy Rosatom.
In early March, the Russian occupiers declared the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant owned by Rosatom . The Russians even tried to replace the staff of the Zaporizhzhya NPP with engineers from a Russian state corporation.
Read also: Zelensky informed the European Commission about Russia's nuclear terrorism
But after Ukraine declared an act of nuclear terrorism and began to demand a reaction from the international community, in particular, this was stated in a very alarming tone by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky , Russia gave back.
The IAEA was forced to intervene in the situation. And Russia has not dared to tell the International Atomic Energy Agency that Zaporizhzhya NPP became their property. The presence of Rosatom specialists on the territory of Ukraine, at nuclear facilities seized by the Russian army, in Russia was explained by “advisory assistance”.
At the same time, representatives of the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation < are still illegally on the ZNPP site .
Russia is trying to legitimize its presence at the station . In particular, according to Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, Russia's Rosatom was trying to offer itself as a negotiator for Ukrainian nuclear power plants in the framework of Russia's tripartite consultations – between the IAEA, the Russian regulator and the Ukrainian side.
For some time Russia had the idea to steal electricity produced by ZNPP . But at the moment it is technically impossible.
Energoatom chief Petro Kotin told Forbes in an interview that since the early 2000s, Putin wanted to unite energy of Russia and Ukraine, and to create a control center in Moscow.
Among the military interests of the capture of nuclear power plants – the opportunity to shelter their troops there, because ZNPP has everything to feed , warm and protect. The station is under video surveillance, there are fences – this is an ideal place to build a military base, said Kotin.
