Trump: Ukraine and Russia are working together to restart Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
US President Donald Trump has claimed that Ukraine and Russia are working together to restart the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
Source: Trump at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following talks at his Mar-a-Lago residence
Details: Asked about the ZNPP, Trump said: "We discussed that at length today... And it's one of the things I discussed with President Putin." [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]
Quote: "…And Putin is actually working with Ukraine on getting it [the ZNPP – ed.] open... He wants to see that open. He hasn't hit it with missiles, hasn't hit it with anything... But they're working together to try and get it open. It can open very quickly."
More details: Trump added that the ZNPP "is in pretty good shape, and the people running it have been there for years… They have 5,000 people at that plant. I learned that today."
Quote: "And they're working together [Ukraine and Russia – ed.] to get it open. That's a big step when he [Putin – ed.] is not bombing that plant, that's a big step."
Background:
- Repair work has begun on a power transmission line near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following another local ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- According to the Russian media outlet Kommersant, Putin said on 26 December that the US is interested in building mining facilities at the ZNPP and in jointly managing the facility without Ukraine's involvement.
Zelenskyy said during an online briefing with journalists on Saturday that Ukraine has informed the US of its view on the issues where no compromise has yet been reached in the talks on concluding a "peace agreement" with Russia. Among these issues is "the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, our ZNPP".