Neither the US nor Ukraine will ever gain control over the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, its director has said
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) belongs to Russia and will be operated by Russia, its director, Yury Chernichyuk, has stressed, dismissing any possibility of US or Ukrainian control over the facility.
Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky discussed in a phone call an option for the US to take over Ukraine’s energy supply, including its nuclear power plants, according to official American accounts of the conversation. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright then also said that it would be “no problem” for Washington to run the Soviet-built facilities.
“I can say one thing: … no one will have control over our station no matter how much they want it,” Chernichyuk told TASS on Saturday, commenting on the statements. “I know of no cases when something like this has happened as a result of some talks.”
The director maintained that the ZNPP “belongs to the Russian Federation and will be operated by us … in accordance with Russian laws.”
The facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, has been under Moscow’s control since March 2022. Zaporozhye Region, where the plant is located, voted to join Russia in a referendum later the same year.
The power plant has been largely in shutdown mode since mid-2023 due to the threat of artillery and drone attacks and the disruption of water supplies. Both Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of attacking the facility and endangering its security. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deployed a monitoring mission to the ZNPP in September 2022, which has been present on the ground ever since.
Earlier this month, Zelensky claimed the power plant’s existence was “impossible” without Kiev’s control, adding that Ukraine would need “money and specialists” to make it operational again.
The ZNPP is currently controlled by a subsidiary of Russian state energy corporation Rosatom. The subsidiary’s CEO said in December that it plans to put the plant back in operation as soon as security is sufficiently ensured.
