Ukraine kills Russian official at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in car bomb

The attack is the latest killing of a pro-Russian figure during the war in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian car bomb attack has killed an official of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, officials from both countries said, in the latest attack against high-profile individuals branded “collaborators” and “traitors” by Kyiv for working with Russian forces.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, said a car bomb blast on Friday morning killed Andriy Korotky, whom it identified as the “head of physical security” at the nuclear site.

It called him a “war criminal” who “voluntarily cooperated with the Russian invaders”, provided details on “pro-Ukrainian” plant employees and “participated in the repression” of the plant’s staff.

Russian-backed authorities at the facility said Korotky was a former head of the local council in Russian-controlled Enerhodar, the city where the nuclear power plant is located.

They added Korotky had been killed in a “terrorist attack committed by the Kyiv regime”. The plant’s director, Yury Chernichuk, appointed by Russia, called it a “reckless” attack that “must be punished”.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said an improvised explosive device was placed under his car at home, which then detonated when he started driving.

“The victim died of his injuries in hospital,” it said, adding that a criminal case had been opened.

The GUR posted a low-quality video showing a white SUV driving slowly before exploding, obliterating the car and spreading debris and smoke all around.

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of risking a potentially devastating nuclear disaster at the site.

The attack was the latest killing of a pro-Russian figure in a car bombing during the war. Several Russian-installed local officials in eastern Ukraine have also been attacked.

In November, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov was reportedly killed near the Russian-controlled port city of Berdyansk, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Valery Chaika, the deputy head of a state-run administrative agency in the Luhansk region, which Russia claimed to have annexed, was killed by a car bomb in April.

Russian drone attack

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said on Friday that Russia attacked critical infrastructure in the country with 19 drones overnight.

Air defences shot down nine drones, with seven more likely impacted by electronic jamming, it said in a statement, without saying what happened to the other three.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an apartment building was damaged in the capital but reported no casualties. The fire was promptly extinguished there, he added.

The attack also damaged a business building in the central region of Kirovohrad, causing light injuries to one of the employees, Governor Andriy Raykovych said.

Russian forces hit critical infrastructure, utility facilities and 35 private residences in the past day in the southern Kherson region, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Various attacks there killed one and injured four, he said.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies