Russian security forces detain husband of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant worker sentenced to 14 and a half years

Russian security forces have detained Oleksii Shulha in occupied Enerhodar, Political Prisoners Memorial has learned. His wife, Nataliia Shulha, was sentenced to 14 and a half years in a penal colony in 2025.

Oleksii was taken away around mid-October, although the exact date is unknown. His current whereabouts are also unknown. He is believed to have been accused of possessing explosives in a car. Russian security forces are understood to have taken the keys to the car when they arrested Nataliia.

Nataliia, a timekeeper in the thermal automation and measurement workshop at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, was abducted on 12 July 2024, when she was 55. She was accused of planning to disable a power line in Enerhodar. According to the prosecution, she retrieved a homemade explosive device from a ‘cache’ and attached it to an electricity pylon, but FSB officers had already replaced the device with a dummy.

In March 2025, the ‘Zaporizhzhia Oblast Court’ set up by the occupation authorities found her guilty of participating in a sabotage community (Article 281.3, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code), attempted sabotage (Article 30, Part 3 and Article 281, Part 2(a) and (b)) and attempted illegal trafficking in explosives and explosive devices by an organised group using the internet (Article 30, Part 3 and Article 222.1, Part 4). The court of first instance sentenced her to 15 years in a penal colony and fined her 500,000 roubles. On appeal, her term was reduced by six months.