Shorouk Express
While such a gambit would be complicated, not least because the invading Russian military currently occupies the site, the leadership in Kyiv is mulling the idea as Ukraine searches for a lasting security guarantee from the U.S. Initially that backstop looked set to take the form of a minerals deal giving America lucrative preferential access to Ukraine’s critical raw materials.
“The idea of ZNPP was first discussed in terms of the mineral deal. Mining needs a lot of electricity. This station is the biggest in Europe. So, the American side came up with the idea that we can work together to return the control over the station,” a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told POLITICO on condition of anonymity to be able to speak freely.
“But for us, it is more than just a station because we do not consider the de-occupation of the NPP without its satellite city Enerhodar, where the NPP workers live. Some of them and their relatives were practically taken as prisoners by Russians,” the official added.
In Washington, Trump’s top foreign policy official lobbied for the plan.
“[Trump] said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Wednesday after the call with Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president clarified in a late-night video conversation with reporters that the leaders had only discussed one nuclear power plant: Zaporizhzhia, which is located on the outskirts of Enerhodar and is occupied by Russia. “But we did not discuss the issue of ownership with President Trump,” Zelenskyy added Thursday, noting that ZNPP, like other Ukrainian plants, belongs to the people of Ukraine.
