A court in occupied southeastern Ukraine sentenced an employee of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to 15 years in prison on charges of attempted sabotage, Russian authorities said Thursday.Federal prosecutors accused Ukrainian national Natalia Shulga of planting an explosive device on a transmission tower in the city of Enerhodar in June.
Russian security agents allegedly discovered and replaced the device with a dummy before it could be detonated.The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office claimed Shulga had joined a Ukrainian special services sabotage group in February 2022, the month Russia launched its full-scale invasion.A Russian-controlled court in the Zaporizhzhia region found Shulga guilty of participating in a sabotage group, attempted sabotage and attempted arms smuggling.Shulga, 56, was sentenced to 15 years in a medium-security penal colony and fined 500,000 rubles ($5,600).
The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office said the sentence fully aligned with its request.Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Europes largest within days of launching their invasion.
Since then, both sides have accused each other of endangering nuclear safety by attacking the site.Inspectors from the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency have been stationed at the plant since September 2022 to monitor nuclear security.