Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will not operate without Kakhovka dam, €2bn needed to rebuild it, Zelenskyy says

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) will not be able to operate unless the Kakhovka dam is rebuilt, which will cost €2 billion.

Source: Zelenskyy during a press briefing, as reported by Ukrinform

Quote: "The Kakhovka dam and the hydroelectric power plant, which are essential for the safe and normal operation of the ZNPP, could be rebuilt as a joint regional development project with a similar operational structure.

But we believe that for this to happen and for everything to function safely, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the city of Enerhodar and the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant must be demilitarised, because Russian troops are currently there and there is fighting, so the necessary level of safety is not there."

Details: Zelenskyy noted that it would cost €2 billion to rebuild the occupied dam and an investor would be needed.

"The Russians won't invest. The only thing they need is drinking water for Crimea. I believe the Americans could quickly build a dam that would provide water. But the water would be [available] everywhere," the president added.

He also reiterated that the United States has proposed joint use of the ZNPP by Ukraine and Russia, but no agreement has yet been reached.

Background:

• Zelenskyy said earlier that no consensus on the ZNPP had been reached in talks on a ceasefire, but that if the plant remains under Russian control, it will not operate.
• On 6 December, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, reported that the ZNPP had temporarily lost all external power, marking the eleventh such incident since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

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