The US President Donald Trump has shifted his focus to taking control of Ukrainian nuclear power plants after his previous attempt to secure a colonial-style mineral deal with Ukraine failed. While the US is reluctant to offer Ukraine any security guarantees, the US administration’s current proposal suggests that if Ukraine effectively gives up its energy security, US-controlled nuclear power plants would allegedly be secure from Russian strikes.
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had what Trump described as a “very good telephone call” and Zelenskyy as a “positive and frank conversation” on 19 March, the first contact between the two leaders since their confrontational meeting at the White House in late February. During this call, Trump proposed that the United States take control of Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
According to AFP, Zelenskyy confirmed the discussion, telling reporters:
“We talked only about one power plant, which is under Russian occupation,” referring to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. He added that he had “not felt any pressure” from Trump to make concessions to Russia.
Ukraine operates 15 nuclear reactors across four nuclear power plants. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, was seized by Russian forces in 2022 and previously produced about 20% of Ukraine’s power supply before being shut down. Ukraine sees Russia’s takeover of the nuclear facility as nuclear terrorism.
Meanwhile, the White House statement from US State Secretary Rubio and National Security Advisor Waltz claimed the following:
“President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants. He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”
Ceasefire discussions
During the call, Zelenskyy agreed to a partial ceasefire that Trump had negotiated with Vladimir Putin a day earlier. The Ukrainian president said Kyiv was “ready” to pause attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure. “Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump instructed their teams to resolve technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire,” according to Zelenskyy Office’s readout of the call.
However, there remains confusion over what exactly was agreed upon between Trump and Putin. While Trump initially suggested the partial ceasefire would apply to “energy and infrastructure,” Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it would only apply to the energy sector, The Guardian noted.
Russia’s demands for ending military aid
A major sticking point in negotiations remains Putin’s insistence that a full ceasefire is only possible if the West agrees to halt military aid to Ukraine. The Kremlin stated that “the need to halt arms supplies to Kyiv was discussed during Putin and Trump’s conversation.”
Trump contradicted this claim on Fox News, saying: “No, we didn’t talk about aid, actually, we didn’t talk about aid at all.” However, Peskov directly contradicted Trump, telling reporters in Moscow that ceasing military aid would be “high on the agenda in negotiations between Russia and the US,” according to The Guardian.
Ukrainian officials dismissed Russia’s demand as unrealistic. Mykhailo Podoliak, Zelenskyy’s aide, called it “a very strange demand,” noting that Putin “wants Ukraine to give up its army, to give up security guarantees, to give up its right to be in alliances, and to give up on various territories.”
Pattern of exploitation
Trump’s current push for control of Ukrainian nuclear plants follows his previous administration’s attempts to force Ukraine to sign away its mineral rights, allegedly to compensate for US aid that wasn’t supposed to require repayment. The mineral deal, which would give the US rights to hundreds of billions of dollars of Ukraine’s mineral resources, remains unsigned.
The WSJ noted that “Trump has been reluctant to offer Kyiv firm security guarantees as part of a peace deal, but he has indicated interest in the US taking ownership stakes in its mineral wealth and now its power facilities to give Washington a stake in ensuring any agreement remains intact.”
Related:
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- Russia claims adherence to energy strike truce after Trump-Putin call while accusing Ukraine of violations
- Trump denies discussing Ukraine aid cut during call with Putin
- Russia claims it intercepted own drones after Trump-Putin call orders energy strike pause
- Russia launches massive drone attack hours after Putin agreed to Trump’s ceasefire proposal
- Ukraine, US may sign mineral resources deal online
- WP: Leaked document reveals Kremlin’s hardline Ukraine negotiation strategy
- Trump-Zelenskyy rift puts world security on the brink. America will pay for it first
- “If Trump wants our minerals, we want F-35s”—Ukrainian soldiers aren’t buying America’s deal
