The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is a Russian facility and transferring control to Ukraine or any other country is impossible, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on March 25.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that joint operation of the Zaporizhzhia plant is not feasible because it does not ensure physical safety and nuclear safety for the facility.
The Zaporizhzhia region, partly controlled by Russian forces, is one of four regions of Ukraine that Russia has annexed through a plea held seven months after the conflict broke out.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the above merger, along with a decree of the Russian President, has officially turned the Zaporizhzhia factory into Russian property.
Russia's consultation on the merger of four Ukrainian territories has not been recognized by other countries.
"Returning this facility to the Russian nuclear industry has long been inevitable. Transferring the Zaporizhzhia plant to Ukraine or another country for control is impossible," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on March 25.
Russian forces have controlled a nuclear power plant with six reactors in Ukraine since the conflict broke out. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of causing dangerous attacks on Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
Although the Zaporizhzhia plant is no longer producing electricity, the UN nuclear watchdog still places monitoring devices here, similar to any other nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
Ukraine has asked Russia to return the Zaporizhzhia factory and rejected Russia's territorialichichichich in 2022.
In a phone call this month with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump mentioned the possibility of the US helping to operate and possibly own Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
President Zelensky said the plants belong to Ukrainian people. He also revealed that he and Mr. Trump discussed the possibility of the US investing in the Ukrainian factory.
