When asked about the suggestion of Donald Trump, made on March 30 and April 9, that the American protection of Ukraine is conditioned to the US control of nuclear facilities, Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of Enerhodar, exiled in Zaporizhia, His city, occupied by the Russian forces since March 2022, houses the six reactors of the largest power plant in Europe. “We must be careful what we say, the issue is sensitive,” he said. “If it is for security guarantees and to recover the plant stolen by Moscow, then yes. But it is at the expense of Ukraine, then no.”
The problem is delicate. Beyond the always present risk of an accident, Ukrainian nuclear energy is essential for continuous negotiations between the United States and Russia with respect to the future of war in Ukraine. The country is caught in a vice. In exchange for its support for kyiv, the United States is using Russian invasion as leverage to acquire its natural resources, including its power plants. Russia, on the other hand, intends to retain the control of Zaporizhia to supply electricity to the Ukrainian territory that has attached in the region. Private of the six reactors in Zaporizhia, which generated 20% of the country’s electricity, Ukraine can currently depend on only eight to nine gigawatts to operate, compared to 20 gigawatts before the war.
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