Russians sentence the Zaporizhzhia NPP worker to 19 years in prison. He was kidnapped in the summer of 2023

A Russian court has sentenced Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) employee Serhiy Potyng to 19 years in prison in a maximum-security colony. The man was accused of attempting to blow up the car of a representative of the Russian security forces.

This was reported by the mayor of Energodar Dmytro Orlov.

Serhiy Potyng is a civil engineer at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Russian forces kidnapped him on June 23, 2023, and have been illegally holding him for almost two years. He was regularly tortured while in captivity.

The Russians have accused Potyng of "espionage" — for allegedly collecting information about the make and license plates of Russian law enforcement vehicles and passing this data on to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The man was also accused of attempting to blow up the car of one of the representatives of Russian law enforcement agencies.

Orlov emphasizes that the accusations against Potyng are completely fabricated.

• In early March 2025, the Russians sentenced 56-year-old the Zaporizhzhia NPP employee Natalia Shulha to 15 years in prison. The woman was accused of “attempted sabotage in collusion with SBU employees”. She was kidnapped in the summer of 2024.
• The Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP in early March 2022, and it has been operating under their control since then. An IAEA mission has been stationed at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of Russian occupiers from the station. President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizes that as long as Russian soldiers are at the Zapporizhzhia NPP, “the world remains on the brink of nuclear catastrophe”. Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at the Zapporizhzhia NPP.

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