The police are investigating death threats and the assault of an employee at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant

The police have opened investigations into death threats and an assault at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant. Photo from open sources

Law enforcement officers are investigating an incident at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, in connection with which two criminal proceedings have been opened. The case concerns an alleged assault and death threats.

This was reported to NikVesti by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region.

The cases relate to Article 129 (Threats of murder) and Article 126 (Assault and battery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A pre-trial investigation is currently underway. The incident was also confirmed by the NPP itself, though only on 6 April following media coverage of the situation, noting that it had not affected the operation of the restricted-access facility in any way.

«All production processes are operating as normal in compliance with nuclear and radiation safety regulations and standards,» the company’s statement reads.

An internal commission has been set up at the plant to investigate the circumstances of the incident and assess the actions of those involved, whilst the company is also cooperating with law enforcement agencies. Currently, the employees involved in the incident are not directly subordinate to the Deputy Director General for Economics and Finance, Angela Savastru.

At the same time, HPP claims that some of the information circulating on social media «bears the hallmarks of emotional interpretation and does not correspond to the actual circumstances».

This refers to a publication by «Barometer», which described the details of the incident. According to their information, a NPP employee was attacked with a knife by the head of the energy complex’s legal department. Another, according to their data, tried to defend himself with whatever was to hand – a diary. When they were separated during the scuffle, the attacker shouted that he would kill the official, the media reports. They also claim that the incident occurred due to personal relations between the employees.

As a reminder, the government has approved a decision to locate a nuclear facility for the production of fuel assemblies for nuclear reactors at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant. The local community had previously given its consent for the construction.