UN Nuclear Watchdog Calls For Release Of Detained Ukrainian Plant Director.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks with journalists after he and part of an IAEA mission come back from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant at a nearby Ukrainian checkpoint on September 1.

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog has called for the release of the director of Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, who was reportedly abducted by a Russian military patrol.

The call late on October 1 by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi came one day after Ihor Murashov was detained while travelling between the Zaporizhzhya plant and the town of Enerhodar.

Murashov "was taken out of the car, and with his eyes blindfolded, he was driven in an unknown direction," Enerhoatom, the Ukrainian state company that oversees the plant, said on Facebook .
Grossi "expressed the hope that Mr. Murashov will return to his family safely and promptly and will be able to resume his important functions at the plant," the IAEA said on Twitter.

Murashov's detention had had a "very significant impact" on him and nuclear safety and security standards, the agency said.

It's unclear exactly why Murashov was detained. Russian authorities have made no statement about the detention.

The plant and the surrounding area have been controlled by Russian forces since March, while Ukrainian staff have continued operating the plant.

Its last reactor was shut down in September because of shelling near the plant.

Kyiv and the IAEA have warned of the possibility of an environmental catastrophe because of nearby fighting.

Russia has rejected calls to create a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhya plant.

Last month, the IAEA's board of governors passed a resolution calling on Russia to end its occupation of the plant and to "immediately cease all actions" against it and "any other nuclear facility in Ukraine."

Russia and China voted against the resolution.