He continued to work at the Zaporizhzhia complex for months after the Russians invaded it in March, among hundreds of Ukrainian workers who were effectively held hostage to keep the power plant — Europe’s largest nuclear plant — running. But eventually, the constant outbursts and fears for her young son’s life made her take the risk of leaving. “It’s scary,” Elena told CNN. “Everything explodes there.” CNN agreed to use only Elena’s first name out of respect for her safety concerns. The Ukrainians have accused Russian troops of using the plant as a shield and risking serious damage or possible destruction to the plant. In response, the Kremlin has repeatedly claimed that Ukrainian forces are shelling the plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a speech to the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Russia had “brought the world to the brink of radiological destruction” by turning the plant into a “war zone” and called for the demilitarization of the plant. “At night (the Russians) shoot somewhere behind the tank,” Elena said. “There are many, many explosions at once, like big cars shooting up.” Worker exodus: Fears about the fallout from Russian troop actions around the plant have precipitated a worker exodus. “In the last two weeks, there has been a crazy outflow of personnel,” said Daria, an employee who still works at the nuclear plant. CNN agreed not to use her real name in light of her security concerns. “We have people leaving en masse, dozens of them, in droves.” Elena said workers at the factory are terrified of the Russian troops stationed there, as they walk around with machine guns and, at night, often “get drunk and shoot in the air”. Read the full story here.
