'Dangerous statements': energy expert on Trump's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remarks

Olha Kosharna, co-founder of the Anti-Crisis Expert Nuclear Center of Ukraine public organization, spoke about this on Espreso TV.

"Three proposals for operating the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have been made public. The first would involve all three parties—the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia—operating the plant together. Ukraine's proposal calls for joint operation with the U.S. only, while Russia's proposal excludes Ukraine entirely, leaving operation to the U.S. and Russia. Putin told the Russian publication Kommersant that the U.S. would either use the ZNPP for cryptocurrency mining or sell electricity to Ukraine. Yesterday, on December 28, Trump made some strange and confusing statements about the ZNPP. As a reminder, he praised Putin for not striking the plant with missiles or bombs," Olha Kosharna commented.

According to her, a temporary ceasefire around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant took effect yesterday, December 28. IAEA Director General Grossi credited his efforts for making this possible, as repairs were needed on the power transmission line between the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant and the ZNPP to restore the backup 330 kV line to the Ferosplavna substation.

"On December 21, Russia's regulatory body issued a license to operate the first power unit of the ZNPP under Russian Federation law. Trump claimed that Russia is interested in Ukraine's prosperity and development, and has agreed to sell cheap electricity to Ukraine—electricity stolen from the ZNPP, as I understand it. Another puzzling statement from Trump yesterday was that Ukraine and Russia are working together to bring the ZNPP into operation. This is completely false—Ukraine is categorically opposed to bringing even a single power unit online, because it's dangerous. Without the Kakhovka Reservoir, there isn't enough water to safely cool all six reactors, so bringing even one unit to full capacity is out of the question," Kosharna noted.

The energy expert explained that Russia attempted to connect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the Russian energy grid, forcing the plant to run on backup diesel generators for a month. After transformer substations were damaged on a new transmission line the Russians had been building since December 2024—running from Henichesk through Melitopol and Molochansk to Enerhodar—they assessed the damage and were forced to restore the 750 kV line connecting the ZNPP to the Dnipro substation, reconnecting it to Ukraine's energy system.

"This is a very strange situation. I'm not a diplomat or international relations expert, but I believe the statements we're hearing from Trump about the ZNPP are dangerous," concluded the co-founder of the Anti-Crisis Expert Nuclear Center of Ukraine.

• On December 28, Ukraine and Russia agreed to a localized cessation of hostilities in the area around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, mediated by the International Atomic Energy Agency.