Speaking about the plant's condition, Mr. Zelensky affirmed that the ZNPP could not operate without being part of Ukraine. Without Ukraine, the existence of the factory is impossible, he said.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the plant needs a large amount of money and experts to restore operations, while the cooling of the reactor was seriously affected by the Kakhovka dam break on the Dnieper River.
The plant is located in Zaporizhzhia, which voted to join Russia after a 2022 Referral, an event that Ukraine and the West did not recognize. Since then, both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of attacking the facility, raising concerns about nuclear safety.
RT reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent a monitoring delegation to the ZNPP in September 2022 and is still present there to monitor the situation. However, the attacks continued. In January, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had shot down eight Ukrainian drones targeting the plant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting at the Eastern Economic Forum in September 2024, also warned about "dangerous terrorist acts" carried out by Ukrainian forces against the nuclear facility.
The ZNPP is currently managed by a subsidiary of Russian state-owned nuclear power conglomerate Rosatom. CEO Ramil Galiev said in December 2024 that the company would resume operations when security was guaranteed. The plan includes building a new pumping system to add cooling water to the reactors.
However, Mr. Zelensky insists that ZNPP is still Ukraine's property. This is our factory. The money is lost, the opportunities are wasted, he stressed.
