US plans to extend fossil fuel deal to include control of Ukrainian nuclear power plants

Iryna Oliynyk Share: Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, photo: Getty Images

The administration of US President Donald Trump is seeking to change the terms of the minerals agreement with Ukraine, possibly to include US control over Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

According to the Financial Times , citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, the new version of the agreement may also include provisions on the ownership and control of a joint Ukrainian-American investment fund.

During a recent telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump proposed to transfer Ukrainian nuclear power plants to US control. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Volz said that the American leader believes this is the best way to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself later clarified that he was not talking about all Ukrainian nuclear power plants, but only about the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

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Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun reacted sceptically to Trump's alleged plan on social media platform X: «Since when does handing over a strategic sector to a foreign power mean security? It sounds more like an acquisition than a defence».

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Oslo that Ukraine was not discussing the ownership of its nuclear power plants with the United States. All of them, including the temporarily seized Zaporizhzhia NPP, belong to the state, which is recognised by the IAEA.

As a reminder, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemned the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity through the rotation of IAEA staff at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which was first carried out without the consent of the Ukrainian side.

Agreement on mineral resources between Ukraine and the United States

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would like to conclude a deal under which Ukraine would supply the US with rare earth minerals needed for electronics production in exchange for US aid.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Donald Trump's proposal to provide Ukraine with military assistance in exchange for its minerals.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had agreed to provide Washington with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion.

It should be noted, however, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign the agreement on granting the US access to rare earth minerals. The White House called this decision «short-sighted».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States might consider investing in mining on the Black Sea shelf, which is currently under Russian occupation.

US National Security Advisor Mike Volz called on Kyiv «to tone it down» and sign the mining agreement that President Zelenskyy had previously rejected.

Subsequently, the US President Donald Trump's administration sent Ukraine an updated version of the mining agreement, which took into account some of Kyiv's comments. The new draft US minerals agreement provides for the distribution of revenues from resources in the liberated territories of Ukraine.

In addition, the US is in preliminary talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo to conclude an agreement on access to critical minerals.