Car with pro-Russian collaborator explodes in city near occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, intelligence says

Editor's note: The article was updated with a comment by military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov.

A car carrying Andrii Korotkyi, the "head of security" working for Russian occupation authorities in the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, exploded in the nearby Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on Oct. 4.

Russia seized Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant in March 2022. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of endangering the station's safety and using it as a tool for nuclear blackmail.

The car detonation occurred on Oct. 4 around 7 a.m. local time, according to military intelligence.

A video published by the agency shows a powerful blast inside the car. Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said in a comment for the Kyiv Independent that "according to available information, (Korotkyi) did not survive."

Korotkyi was a collaborator involved in the organization and execution of war crimes and repression of Ukrainians under Russian occupation, the agency said.

Following the seizure of the plant, Korotkyi began cooperating with the Russian occupation authorities, giving them lists of plant employees with their personal data and pointing to citizens with a pro-Ukrainian position.

Korotkyi organized events to support the Russian army. He was also a member of the ruling United Russia political party and headed the Russia-installed town "council" in Enerhodar.

Throughout its occupation, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

The plant has already experienced eight complete blackouts, the state nuclear energy company Energoatom said.

Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 15 that Russian forces continued to use the territory of the occupied power plant to deploy military personnel and store ammunition and explosives and criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for supposedly ignoring the fact.

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