He shared this information with Ukrainske Radio.
He explained that some of the collaborators who signed contracts with Rosatom and held senior positions at the plant had left the town. He also noted that about 100 representatives of the ZNPP staff, who were brought by the invaders from Russian stations, also left Enerhodar.
"With regard to the plant's employees, there is indeed information that some collaborators who had signed contracts with Rosatom and held senior positions within the fake company linked to Rosatom have left the town. We hope that they have left not just for the weekend but permanently. Also a few specialists, up to 100 experts from Rosatom, who were brought in from Russian nuclear power plants, left the town at the end of the previous week," Orlov revealed.
The mayor noted that despite the fact that the military has intensified searches in the town, they are not moving around very actively, which may be a sign of preparation for evacuation.
"The Russian military is not moving very actively in Enerhodar at the moment. The fact that they have intensified searches suggests that they may be preparing for another “gesture of goodwill” (withdrawal of troops - ed.), as the locals say. However, we understand that the military would need some time to evacuate if ordered," he stated.
Orlov also emphasized that the enemy has been randomly mining the town's perimeter since the beginning of the year, possibly preparing for a counteroffensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The perimeter of the plant was mined, as well as the entire coastline of the Kakhovka Reservoir. Since the beginning of this year, the Russians have started randomly mining the territory along the town's perimeter and the fields designated for agricultural purposes. The significant impact on the mood of the remaining specialists in Enerhodar is also a result of what they did to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station," the mayor revealed.
As for the Ukrainian employees of the plant, they have not had the opportunity to evacuate from the town since the beginning of the occupation. Orlov explained that for a period of time, civilians were allowed to evacuate through Crimea, but this option was not available to ZNPP employees. The mayor emphasizes that they are essentially hostages of the Russians.
"The Russians had lists of nuclear plant workers and did not allow them to leave. This is why around 5,000 to 6,000 employees who remained in the town, ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, are effectively hostages. They are not allowed to go to work because their passes have been blocked unless they have signed a contract. They also do not have the possibility to leave the town," added the mayor.
Russians occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in late February 2022. Since then, there has been a constant presence of personnel and military equipment, which the invaders store in machine rooms and occasionally deploy to positions for shelling the territories of the Nikopol district in the Dnipropetrovsk region, located on the other side of the Kakhovka Reservoir.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a monitoring mission at the station, which is supposed to ensure that the nuclear power plant is not used as a military base, that it is not attacked, and that no fire is initiated from the NPP. Power outages at the nuclear power plant occur regularly though. Occupiers began importing explosives to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant last year.
It became known in May 2023 that the Russians had placed explosives in the turbine room of the ZNPP’s fourth power unit. Additionally, the invaders have nearly completely destroyed the emergency readiness and response system at the nuclear power plant.
On June 22, the Director-General of the IAEA, after visiting ZNPP Grossi, stated that the situation at the plant is extremely unstable. On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that intelligence had received information that Russia was considering a scenario for a terrorist act at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which would cause a radiation release.
The Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that Russia has completed preparations for a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
On June 29, large-scale exercises were held in four regions of Ukraine to prepare for a possible terrorist attack on the ZNPP. Emergency services will be practicing their action plans in four regions.
On June 30, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that the occupying Russian forces were gradually leaving the ZNPP, and that Ukrainian employees who had signed a contract with Rosatom also received evacuation recommendations. In addition, the plant's staff received an order to blame Ukraine in any emergency situation.
In turn, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, stated that the counteroffensive by the AFU and the process of Ukraine regaining control over the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) will continue, even in the face of nuclear blackmail by the Russians.