Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine - A Ukrainian car bomb attack killed an official of the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant on Friday, officials from both countries said.

Kyiv has attacked several high-profile people branded "collaborators" and "traitors" for working with Russian forces since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

Ukraine's GUR military intelligence directorate said a car bomb blast on Friday morning had killed Andriy Korotky, whom it identified as the "head of physical security" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

It called him a "war criminal" who "voluntarily cooperated with the Russian invaders," had provided details on "pro-Ukrainian" plant employees and "participated in the repression" of the plant's staff.

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The GUR posted a low-quality video showing a white SUV driving slowly before exploding, obliterating the car and spreading debris and smoke all around.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said an improvised explosive device was placed under his car at home, which then detonated when he started driving.

"The victim died of his injuries in hospital," it said, adding that a criminal case had been opened.

Russian-backed authorities at the facility said Korotky had been killed in a "terrorist attack committed by the Kyiv regime."

The plant's director, Yury Chernichuk, appointed by Russia, called it a "reckless" attack that "must be punished".

The plant said Korotky was also a former head of the local council in Russian-controlled Energodar, the town where the nuclear power plant is located.

Russian forces seized the plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, in the first weeks of their 2022 invasion. Both sides have accused each other of risking a potentially devastating nuclear disaster at the site.