Russian dictator Vladimir Putin suggested the possibility of trilateral cooperation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant involving the US, Ukraine, and Russia.
Putin made this statement at the SCO summit in China.
“The same applies to the Ukrainian side at the Zaporizhzhia plant. If favorable circumstances arise, we have discussed this with our American colleagues, and we may even work together at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” Putin was quoted as saying by Russian media.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy called Putin’s idea an attempt to use the Zaporizhzhia NPP as a tool for further warfare. The Ministry of Energy reminded that due to the Russian occupation, the ZNPP is in a state of off-design threat, i.e., a regime that was not provided for either structurally or procedurally.
After the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, Russia allowed “systemic, critically dangerous deformations in the technical functioning of this nuclear facility.” This refers not only to the destruction of the main source of water supply for cooling the reactors as a result of the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam, but also to the repeated disconnections of the plant from the Ukrainian power grid, which led to a complete blackout.
In this context, the public statements made by the President of the Russian Federation on September 2, 2025, regarding the introduction of new, unknown systems of management and control over the station should be regarded as evidence of an attempt to use the ZNPP as a military tool in the further conduct of war against Ukraine,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Energy called on the international community, in particular the participants of the September session of the IAEA General Conference, to give a clear assessment of these actions, as they pose a direct threat to the security of Europe.
“The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine considers any attempts by the Russian Federation to introduce new forms of ‘management’ or ‘control’ at the Zaporizhzhya NPP as a deliberate escalation of the threat to nuclear safety,” the Ministry of Energy said.