US Could Run Ukraine’s Power Plants if Helpful for Ceasefire, Energy Secretary Says

Reuters

10:54 JST, March 20, 2025

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States could step in to run Ukrainian power plants if that was helpful to ensure a ceasefire and bring peace to the war-torn country.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a phone call on Wednesday that the U.S. could help run, and possibly own, Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, according to a statement by the U.S. administration.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine has begun talks with the U.S. about its possible involvement in restoring Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, which has been shut down since Russian troops occupied it in 2022.

Asked how that would work, Wright told Fox News, “We have immense technical expertise in the United States to run those plants. I don’t think that requires boots on the ground.”

Wright said Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were working to end the war in Ukraine.

“How do we bring peace to Ukraine? How do we get this fighting to stop? Which takes both sides to lay down their arms? But if it was helpful to achieve that end, have the U.S. run nuclear power plants in Ukraine. No problem, we can do that.”

Wright told reporters earlier that the issue did not come up during a White House meeting hosted by Trump with U.S. oil executives.