Russia-occupied facility remains one of main sticking points in US peace plan to end war
Ukraine would receive 50% of the electricity output from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station under a 20-point peace plan put forward by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 30 December that offered concessions to Russia in an effort to end the conflict in Ukraine.
The proposal slims down the 28-point peace plan proposed by the Trump administration and allots for the creation of a “fortress belt” composed of cities in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine to protect Ukraine from further invasion from Moscow.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has pushed to acquire all of the Donetsk region in peace negotiations and has made land cessation a requirement to end the war.
Instead of ceding land, Zelenskyy has offered to establish a demilitarised zone on the front lines that would require Russian and Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the areas defined in the agreement.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, is one of the main sticking points in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
As part of Zelenskyy’s plan, the Ukrainian government has proposed Ukraine would receive 50% of the electricity output from Zaporizhzhia and the US would control the other 50% of the plant and determine how to divide up its assets, CNN reported.
Zelenskyy was said to have rejected the previous proposal, in which the US, Ukraine and Russia would split the joint venture three ways, with each country obtaining 33% of the plant’s output.
“It is clear that for Ukraine this sounds very unsuccessful and not entirely realistic. How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?” Zelenksyy said in an interview with NBC.
Zelenskyy had said ahead of a meeting with Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Sunday that territorial integrity and control of Zaporizhzhia are non-negotiable, calling them Ukraine's “red lines”.
He said countries have engaged in more than 15 hours of conversation about the plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since soon after Mocow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and is near the frontline of fighting in the southeast of Ukraine.
According to Modern Diplomacy, a Bulgaria-based online resource, the central question is not just ownership of Zaporizhzhia, but control over the energy produced and the safety protocols preventing catastrophe.
‘Sovereign Territory Under Illegal Occupation’
Ukraine insists the plant is sovereign territory under illegal occupation. Russia claims ownership and operational control through its state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
Modern Diplomacy said the US-backed proposals point towards a “messy” compromise: a trilateral management structure involving Ukrainian, American, and potentially Russian oversight. Ukraine seeks to regain control to address its severe electricity deficit. Russia aims to connect the plant to its grid and solidify its hold on occupied territory. Washington’s proposal of a joint Ukrainian-American model with a US chief manager is seen as an attempt to de-escalate risk and create a face-saving solution.
On social media Zelenskyy said that he and Trump had agreed that security guarantees are key on the path to achieving a lasting peace, and “our teams will continue working on all aspects”.
He said: “We agreed that our teams would meet as early as next week to finalise all discussed matters. We also agreed with President Trump that he will host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington, D.C., in January. Ukraine is ready for peace.”
Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors have not produced electricity for more than three years and its six reactors are all shut down. But it still needs electricity to power the pumps used for cooling its reactor cores and spent fuel and to avoid a meltdown with a possible radioactive release.
The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in 2023 triggered a long-term cooling crisis, the essential reservoir is gone, and water levels continue to drop. This calls into question whether more than one or two reactors could ever safely restart, regardless of who is in charge.
The site has suffered repeated loss of backup power, a scenario the International Atomic Energy Agency has called “unsustainable.” Both sides trade accusations of shelling near the facility, making repair or assessment missions perilous.
Zelenskyy and Trump met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Sunday. Courtesy The White House.
