Zelenskyy comments on talks of «transferring» Zaporizhzhia NPP to US ownership
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- Alona Kokhanchuk
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18:45, 20 March, 2025
Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Screenshot from the videoUkraine does not discuss 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.
This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference in Oslo.
He stressed that all Ukrainian nuclear power plants belong to the state of Ukraine, including the temporarily seized Zaporizhzhia NPP.
«And this is recognised by everyone, including the IAEA», the President added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the plant's personnel receive salaries from Ukraine and are its citizens. Despite the illegal management of the plant by the Russian Federation, all specialists, including nuclear engineers, remain Ukrainians who are being held forcibly. At a press conference, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the occupiers even take the children of ZNPP employees to Russia, forcing them to stay.
«I don't know whether they discussed this with the Russians or not (the issue of ZNPP ownership, — note). President Trump asked me: «What do you think about this plant?» I told him that if it is not Ukrainian, it will not work for anyone. It is illegal. And we cannot just dispose of this station because it is state-owned. If the Americans are thinking about how to find a way out of this situation, if they want to take it away from the Russians and want to invest and modernise it, that's another matter. This is an open question, but we have not discussed the ownership issue with President Trump», he said.
All 15 units currently in operation belong to the state, and these are serious guarantees of energy security, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
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 Zaporizhzhia NPP, which for the first time took place without the consent of the Ukrainian side.