Media: Negotiations on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant stall between US, Ukraine

During December 14–15 negotiations in Berlin, the United States and Ukraine failed to reach an agreement on the future operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

US officials proposed a 50/50 split of the plant’s electricity between the two sides, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Guardian.

The Ukrainian side rejected this approach, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisting on joint oversight by Kyiv and Washington, while limiting Russia’s involvement.

Since March 2022, Russian forces have occupied and taken control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, creating serious international safety concerns as the facility operates near an active war zone.

The plant’s external power supply has been repeatedly severed due to military activity, forcing reliance on emergency diesel generators to keep cooling and safety systems running — a situation that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called highly risky.

Ukraine and the EU have repeatedly urged restoration of safe operations and cessation of hostilities near the site, warning that ongoing outages and combat activity could escalate into a catastrophic nuclear accident.

Global nuclear regulators and safety watchdogs describe the continued military pressure around Zaporizhzhia as “unprecedented” and unsustainable, with repeated blackouts and infrastructure damage heightening risk to reactors and spent fuel storage.

By Jeyhun Aghazada