The SBU detained Kharkiv design engineers who helped the Russian Federation to connect Zaporizhzhya NPP to Rosatom
On April 8, SBU cyber specialists announced that they had prevented the Russian Federation’s attempts to obtain new technologies in the field of nuclear energy.
As a result of a special operation, 6 former officials of design institutes of Ukraine who worked for the sanctioned Rosatom were detained in Kharkiv. According to the investigation, the main figure in the proceedings is the head of the Kharkiv project organization, who established contact with the Russian Federation through his relative, the owner of a Russian company that performs contracts for Rosatom. They communicated with each other via messenger and e-mail. In addition, the resident of Kharkiv involved five more local scientists in the field of atomic energy.
On the order of the Russian Federation, they developed research and project documentation for the modernization of the Russian nuclear power plants – Kursk, Rostov, Novovoronezh and Balakov. Rosatom representatives also planned to involve Kharkiv residents in high-tech work in the temporarily occupied part of the territory in the south of Ukraine, where they were supposed to help fully integrate the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant into the Russian energy system. For such cooperation, the participants received a reward in crypto-currency from the Russian Federation – the funds were deposited into the crypto-wallet of false persons, who then processed them and handed them over to the designers.
During searches of the places of work and actual residence of the suspects, SBU investigators seized documents, computers, and mobile phones that they used to cooperate with the Russian Federation. All six detainees were notified of suspicion under Part 1 of Art. 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, they face up to 12 years in prison.