The Russian-backed mayor of a nuclear power plant town in Ukraine was reportedly injured in a blast

Kyiv, May 22 (Reuters) – The Russian-appointed head of the occupied Ukrainian city next to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was injured in an explosion on Sunday, a Ukrainian official and a Russian news agency said.

Andrei Shevchuk, who was appointed mayor of Enerhodar after the city was occupied by the Russian army, was in intensive care after the attack, Russia’s RIA news agency reported, citing a rescue service source.

“We have precise confirmation that during the blast the self-proclaimed head of ‘People’s Administration’ Shevchuk and his bodyguards were injured,” said Dmytro Orlov, whom Ukraine recognizes as the city’s mayor, in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Enerhodar is a city with a pre-war population of over 50,000. Many residents work at the two power plants next to the city, one of which is the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Ukraine has previously complained that Russia’s occupation of the power plant increases the risk of a nuclear disaster.

Reuters could not independently confirm the attack.

Ukraine said last week it attacked an armored train carrying Russian troops in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol. Continue reading

Reporting by Conor Humphries and Max Hunder; Adaptation by Toby Chopra

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