Russia said, "A senior Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant official's suspected car explosion..."Ukra is responsible."

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, has been blamed by Russia for a mysterious car explosion.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, Andriy Korotki, the head of nuclear power plant security, was killed in a car explosion in Enerhodar, a city near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, on the morning of the 4th.

Russia has deployed troops to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and occupied the area since 2022, when it invaded Ukraine.

The plant was operated by Energoatom, Ukraine's state-owned nuclear power company, even after the Russian occupation, but the Russian side replaced its workforce by signing new employment contracts with people who acquired Russian citizenship among its employees.

Korotki, who was the director at the time, is also known as a Russian management team.

Russia said Korotki was "one of the key staff responsible for nuclear safety" and accused the incident of a "terrible crime in Ukraine."

In response, the IAEA said the Ukrainian side only informed that "civilians do not attack."

Earlier in the day, the General Intelligence Service under Ukraine's Defense Ministry posted a video of Korotki's vehicle being destroyed on social media and said "all war criminals will receive their due retribution."

Because of this, there are widespread claims that the Ukrainian side has assassinated civilians by branding them as "Russian supporters."IAEA Secretary-General Raphael Grossi
said the IAEA had no authority to investigate the incident, but noted that it "violated the basic principles of nuclear safety that ensure the safety of nuclear power operations personnel and their mission performance."