Kyiv, May 22 – 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 Shevchik, who was appointed mayor of Enerhodar by Russia after the city was occupied, was in intensive care after the blast, Russia’s RIA news agency said, citing an emergency medical service source.
“We have precise confirmation that the self-proclaimed head of ‘People’s Administration’ Shevchik and his bodyguards were injured during the blast,” said Dmytro Orlov, who Ukraine still recognizes as the city’s legitimate mayor, in a post in the Telegram message apartment
Orlov wrote on Telegram on Sunday evening that Shevchik had been taken to the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol to recover from his injuries and that he was being temporarily relieved as the city’s leader.
Reuters could not immediately determine what caused the explosion.
Enerhodar had over 50,000 inhabitants before the war. 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 said last week it attacked an armored train carrying Russian troops in Melitopol. Continue reading
Reporting by Conor Humphries and Max Hunder; Adaptation by Toby Chopra