In a call this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump put forward a very unusual idea: The United States can control Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
“The U.S. may be very helpful for plants with power and utility expertise,” the White House said in a statement after a call Wednesday. “U.S. ownership of these plants will be the best protection for the infrastructure and support for Ukraine's energy infrastructure.”
This idea surprised Kiev officials and energy experts. Mr. Zelensky appeared to reject it on Thursday, saying the nuclear power plant was state-owned and could not be privatized despite his welcome economic cooperation with the U.S. side. He added that during the call, the U.S. ownership of the factory has not been directly resolved.
Mr Zelensky said only one of the four nuclear power plants in Ukraine had discussed during the conversation.
“If Americans are thinking about how to find a way out of this situation, if they want to take it away from the Russians, investment recovery, it's a public issue,” he told a press conference during his visit to Norway.
Apart from the confusion about what is being discussed, one thing is clear: Mr. Trump hopes to have huge economic benefits in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump had previously requested access to Ukraine's mineral resources, and the White House statement responded to his argument that he had applied for a potential mineral agreement that U.S. economic participation in Ukraine is its best security guarantee because Russia is less likely to be a country with an economic interest in the United States.
So what might the U.S. interest in Ukraine’s nuclear sector and what challenges it may face?
The economic interests of the United States
During the war, Ukrainian Soviet-era nuclear power plants have been the backbone of its energy network, supplying up to two-thirds of the country's electricity. Although Moscow ruthlessly attacked Ukraine's thermoelectric and hydroelectric power plants to weaken its grid, it avoided striking nuclear facilities, which could trigger a radiation disaster.
Against this backdrop, the Ukrainian government has developed plans to build more nuclear reactors, believing that it is the only viable solution to ensure long-term energy security.
This is where American business interests may come into play.
Shortly before the war, American nuclear technology company Westinghouse signed an agreement with Ukrainian state-owned nuclear company Energoatom to build five reactors. The number increased to nine after the Russian attack, and the two companies agreed to further cooperate to deploy smaller factories in Ukraine.
For Westinghouse, this is a breakthrough in the Ukrainian nuclear market, which has long been dominated by Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom.
Westinghouse is particularly interested in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which responds to six reactions. Russia captured the plant in March 2022 and it no longer supplies electricity to the Ukrainian power grid. But before the war, it used Westinghouse's fuel and technology.
Ukrainian nuclear safety expert Olga Kosharna said Russia's capture of the Zaporizhzhia factory has raised concerns about the potential theft of its intellectual property. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy warned in a letter to Rosatom that the company could be prosecuted under U.S. law if it uses Westinghouse technology at its factory.
Andrian Prokip, an energy expert at the Kennan Institute in Washington, said Westinghouse will “definitely benefit” and will expand its market from the factory back to Ukraine.
It is unclear whether Mr. Trump vowed to discuss the fate of the Zaporizhzhia factory on Tuesday on a call on Tuesday.
Westinghouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Current Ukrainian officials and former officials are aware of the talks between the United States and Ukraine, and said Kiev emphasized to Trump that if the United States wants to obtain Ukrainian minerals, it will require the power generation capacity of the Zaporizhzhia Plant factory, because mineral extraction and processing are energy-rich.
Possible Challenges
On the one hand, all nuclear power plants in Ukraine are owned by Energoatom, which is prohibited by Ukrainian law.
The law that amended Ukraine allows U.S. ownership, which in a post-Soviet country, still exists in many key industries, will be politically sensitive.
During the war, Ukraine participated in the wave of privatization. But privatized energy goats that generate the most revenues in state-owned companies may be noticeable.
“I hope there is a lot of resistance to this idea in Ukraine,” said Victoria Voytsiska, a former Ukrainian MP and a senior member of the Congressional Energy Commission. “From the two sides of the political field.”
Mr. Zelensky mentioned the issue at his press conference after a phone call with Mr. Trump. Mr Zelensky said that if Russia returns the Zaporizhzhia factory to Ukraine – Ukraine thinks that many people think it is an unlikely prospect – “simple handing over the factory to the United States” would be impossible because this is our land, this is our land. ”
Getting plants to function again after three years of war will also pose a huge challenge. Mr. Zelensky listed up to two and a half years to make the downgraded Zaporizhzhia plant run again.
Additionally, although all six Zaporizhzhia reactors have been shut down, they still need energy to power critical safety systems and water to circulate in their cores to prevent collapse.
However, there were several cuts in the war that powered the plants, possibly destroying nearby dams in the direction of Russia, reducing access to cold water, increasing the risk of nuclear accidents.
On Wednesday, Mr. Zelensky described his discussion with Mr. Trump as a “positive step.” But he added: “I'm not sure we'll get results soon.”
