NEW YORK, April 21. /TASS/. The United States believes that one of the conditions that could contribute to the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine could be assigning a neutral status to the territories around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant with the establishment of Washington's control over them, The Wall Street Journal reported citing sources.
The publication does not indicate which territories around the ZNPP Washington proposes to designate as neutral and in what format the United States could exercise control over these territories and the plant. The publication does not indicate who exactly, in Washington's opinion, should manage the plant if such a proposal is implemented.
The Zaporozhye NPP, located in Energodar, has six power units with a total capacity of 6 GW. It is Europe’s largest nuclear power generating facility. At the end of February 2022, the facility was taken over by Russian forces. Since then, Ukrainian army units have periodically shelled both residential areas in Energodar and the plant itself using drones, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers. All six units of the plant are in cold shutdown, they are not generating electricity. The plant has the required personnel to ensure safe operation, the equipment is maintained in accordance with all necessary regulations under strict control of radiation and nuclear safety standards and under the supervision of IAEA experts.
At a meeting with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry in June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was ready to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, which would involve recognizing the status of Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as subjects of Russia.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia would not transfer the Zaporozhye NPP to Ukraine or any other country.