U.S. has powerful leverage to return Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Ukraine — energy expert

She spoke about this on Espreso TV.

“Of course, for Ukraine, the return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is a strategically important issue not only in terms of the security component, but also in terms of ensuring sufficient electricity generation capacity in the future. In addition, the issue of nuclear danger is important for our European partners. However, the issue of ZNPP is also important for our American partners. It is worth mentioning that before the full-scale invasion, 4 out of 6 nuclear units at Zaporizhzhia NPP were operating on American fuel from Westinghouse, which had huge plans to sell its fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants,” said Viktoriia Voitsitska.

She stated that the U.S. company has a strong voice to lobby for the return of ZNPP to Ukraine’s control. The U.S. also has an interest in Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, requiring significant electricity. Currently, Ukraine lacks about 2 GW of power, but ZNPP’s return would cover this deficit and create a surplus.

"Regarding the return of ZNPP to Ukraine’s control, the U.S. has a strong voice. Since the plant uses American fuel, U.S. law states that no one except an authorized party has the right to access the American fuel present there. In this case, the authorized party is Ukraine and ZNPP personnel. Notably, in 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy warned Rosatom in a letter that it must comply with U.S. law or face criminal liability. Therefore, our American partners have a strong argument to persuade Russia to return ZNPP to Ukraine’s control," the energy expert emphasized.

Voitsitska added that after ZNPP is returned to Ukraine, it will be necessary to consider how Ukraine-Russia relations will be structured, as nuclear power plants are an element of Ukraine’s sovereignty and energy independence.

• U.S. Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, stated that during negotiations with Russian representatives, issues related to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and access to ports are being discussed.
• At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that the issue of restoring the Zaporizhzhia NPP was raised during the dialogue with Trump.