Russia is moving to connect Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to its own power grid — NYT
Russia is building power lines in occupied parts of Ukraine, apparently in an effort to connect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to its own power grid, The New York Times reported, citing a new report by Greenpeace.
Satellite images included in the report show the construction of new transmission lines. Starting in early February, Russia has been installing more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) of power lines between the occupied cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk.
According to Greenpeace, the aim is to link the new lines to a major substation near Mariupol, which is itself connected to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, located about 225 kilometers (140 miles) away.
It remains unclear whether Russia plans to restart the plant after the war or while fighting is still ongoing, the NYT noted. Experts believe several additional transmission lines would be needed before the plant could be fully integrated into Russia’s energy system.
Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Ukraine, described the satellite imagery as the first concrete evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to restart the Zaporizhzhia plant.
If carried out, the NYT wrote, it would mark the first known instance of one country seizing a nuclear facility from another in wartime and using it to meet its own energy needs. Such a move would run counter to recent efforts by the Trump administration to address the plant’s future as part of ongoing peace negotiations.
Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant at the start of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Under a peace plan developed by Trump’s administration, control of the plant would be returned to Ukraine, while its operations would be managed by the United States. The electricity generated by the plant would be divided between both sides of the conflict.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow has not received any U.S. proposal regarding the plant’s transfer. If one is submitted, he added, Russia will make clear that such a handover is not an option.
