The logic is as follows: if these facilities are managed by the US, Putin will not dare to bomb them. At least that is how Donald Trump sees things, who proposes to Kiev that the US take over Ukrainian nuclear power plants. But where does this plan come from?
During the conversation between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump on March 19, the issue of Ukrainian nuclear power plants and their possible management by the US was raised. The Ukrainian president assures that it only concerns the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
However, the American side is probably looking at things in a broader context. "American ownership of these plants would be the best protection for this infrastructure and for the maintenance of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure," said a joint statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Walz after the conversation between Trump and Zelensky.
This interpretation of the phone call by the White House somewhat embarrassed the Ukrainian president. "I said - yes, for example, money can be invested. This can be discussed, but we only talked about the plant, which is under occupation," Zelensky explained to journalists. He emphasized that the deoccupation of the Zaporizhia NPP would not be enough, since "there must be infrastructure" - water supply and technical personnel to restore electricity production.
Ukrainian opposition mocks American proposal
These statements sparked discussion and criticism in Ukraine from the opposition. “What's so important - we gave away nuclear weapons, and now they can take away our power plants,” commented on Telegram MP from the opposition faction “European Solidarity” Irina Gerashchenko.
Her colleague from the faction, Alexei Goncharenko, believes that the Ukrainian president himself offered the “Zaporizhia” nuclear power plant to the United States and now he doesn't know what to do with this offer of his. “Zelensky asked for help in the restoration, and the United States, without thinking for long, will now talk about all our nuclear power plants. This is downright surreal. First we offered rare earth metals, which no one wanted from us, and now - nuclear power.” The MP also appealed to Zelensky on Facebook to stop talking to Trump if possible, because Ukraine now has only the black soil left.
„Nuclear power plants are an element of Ukraine's security"
Ukrainian analysts are divided in their opinions regarding the transfer of Ukrainian nuclear power plants to the Americans. International energy relations expert Mikhail Gonchar believes that this is unrealistic for the US and dangerous for Ukraine.
„This is a matter of nuclear security. Therefore, there should be only one operator, which is the National Nuclear Company „Energoatom". It is the operator and owner, and only it can manage this nuclear power plant," Gonchar told DW. „Even if all this is just business, as the US is offering us, what will we get in return for giving them ownership of all Ukrainian nuclear power plants? There is no answer."
Gonchar also points out the weakness in Trump's argument that if the power plants become the property of American companies, this will stop Russian attacks. In this regard, the expert recalls that until 2022, several large American companies were developing gas fields in Ukraine, but they all left the country after Russia attacked Ukraine.
It is significant that until 2022, the Zaporozhye NPP also operated entirely with fuel from the American company Westinghouse, but this did not prevent the Russians from occupying it at all. "Transferring ownership of the NPP is a fraudulent deal - we will give them our nuclear power plants, and at some point they will simply run away and that's it. Is this a guarantee of security?", the expert asks.
Gonchar notes that, speaking about the ownership of the Zaporozhye NPP, the American administration does not imagine the extent of the damage that Russian troops have caused to the plant.
"When Russia blew up the Kakhovka dam, it doomed the Zaporozhye NPP. The Kakhovka reservoir is dry and the plant cannot operate with all six units because there is no water. At most, one or two units can operate. "That's why Trump's team won't be able to make a business out of it," Gonchar believes.
American ownership as a chance to de-occupy the Zaporozhye NPP?
Energy expert Volodymyr Omelchenko, in turn, is convinced that the US proposal to acquire the Zaporozhye NPP is interesting for Ukraine and is a chance to de-occupy the plant.
“If, through its sanctions capabilities and through political and diplomatic agreements, the US manages to return the Zaporozhye NPP with its adjacent infrastructure to the legal field of Ukraine, after the terrorist Russian units leave there, I think this is a good proposal”, says Omelchenko. He notes that Ukraine could create a separate company to manage the plant, in which part of the ownership would be owned by an American company or the American state.
“This would be positive for Ukraine. The plant would work for Ukrainian consumers, pay money into the Ukrainian budget, and the issue of security would disappear. This is a good offer and Ukraine can accept it."
"Russia will not just leave"
Nuclear energy expert Olga Kosharnaya reminds that for the time being all Ukrainian nuclear power plants are state-owned and are not subject to privatization, including due to international financial obligations to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which allocated funds for the comprehensive program to increase the safety of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. In addition, according to Kosharnaya, Russia is not ready to withdraw from the “Zaporizhia" nuclear power plant, no matter how profitable it would be for the United States. Kosharnaya also points out that the Russian occupation authorities are preparing to include the occupied plant in the Russian energy system as soon as possible.
“I think that the “Zaporizhia" nuclear power plant can only be deoccupied by military means. "Russia will not just leave like that," Kosharnaya told DW. She noted that for Russia, the Zaporozhye NPP is an element of nuclear blackmail and is too valuable a trophy to just give it up.
Former Ukrainian Energy Minister Alexei Orzhel, in turn, told DW that Ukrainian legislation restricts the transfer of strategic facilities, which includes nuclear power plants, to private hands. But he does not rule out the possibility that this will be reviewed for the sake of Ukraine's security. "If certain facilities become the property of the United States, the likelihood that Putin will start purposefully destroying them will decrease," Orzhel hopes.