Why Europe Can’t Afford to Lose Its Largest Nuclear Plant to Russia

President Zelenskyy said on March 20 that Ukraine would not permit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to operate under Russian control, reaffirming that the country’s nuclear infrastructure belongs solely to the Ukrainian state. While the US is interested in investing in and modernizing the facility, discussions have focused on restoring Europe’s largest nuclear plant—currently under Russian occupation—to safe Ukrainian control.

Based on statements from both US President Donald Trump and President Zelenskyy, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is a key topic in talks with Russia. The plant has been under Russian occupation for two years, hurting the region’s energy system and creating serious risks.

As peace negotiations between the US, Ukraine, and Russia gain traction, the question of who controls the plant is in the spotlight. Whether it’s returned to Ukraine or remains under Russian control will impact not just the war’s outcome, but Europe’s energy security as a whole.

Before Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, nuclear energy supplied 55% of Ukraine’s electricity, generating 86.2 TWh from 15 reactors. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant accounted for 20% of that output and played a key role in electricity exports to the EU. 

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War in Ukraine

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By 2022, Ukraine had begun transitioning from Russian fuel to US-made Westinghouse fuel, with four of Zaporizhzhia’s reactors already using American rods.

The ZNPP isn’t just Ukraine’s biggest energy asset—it’s a cornerstone of European energy stability. Before the war, it was the largest nuclear power plant on the continent and ranked sixth worldwide. It played a critical role in keeping Ukraine’s grid online by generating approximately a fifth of the country’s electricity. 

With six VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors and a net capacity of 5,700 MW, ZNPP holds the title of Europe’s largest nuclear power station. For comparison, France’s largest plant, Gravelines, has a capacity of 5,460 MW, while Cattenom and Paluel each produce 5,320 MW. To put that into perspective: ZNPP could power approximately 14 to 17 million homes at once.

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However, much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed, damaged, or remains under Russian occupation. As a result, the country is now heavily reliant on its two remaining active nuclear power plants and energy imports from Europe. 

This patchwork setup remains fragile and inefficient. It often forces institutions like schools and hospitals to operate under the constant threat of outages and puts pressure on households and businesses alike as demand strains an already limited electricity supply.

The scarcity drives up costs across the board, placing financial strain not only on Ukrainians but also on European partners scrambling to fill the gap. The longer this imbalance persists, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to maintain essential services, industrial output, and humanitarian support across the region, energy analysts say.

Current risks

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant faces a complex mix of technical failures—ranging from degraded equipment and cooling system collapse to recurring power outages. But the most critical threat remains geopolitical: the Russian occupation. 

Since seizing the plant, Russian forces have created unsafe conditions, caused staffing shortages, and restricted international oversight. All of these make a safe return to operations impossible without major repairs and the end of the occupation.

Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023 eliminated the plant’s primary cooling water source, forcing operators to rely on a finite and diminishing supply from a cooling pond and hastily dug wells—enough, engineers estimate, to support only two of the plant’s six reactors in a best-case scenario.

Serious concerns over equipment degradation compound this, as prolonged shutdowns and the lack of proper maintenance have eroded the plant’s operational integrity. Frequent wartime power outages further destabilize the situation, intermittently knocking out the critical systems that prevent radiation leaks—interruptions the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has repeatedly flagged as dangerous.

Inside the facility, the situation is no less dire. Since Russian forces seized control of the plant in early 2022, many Ukrainian staff have fled or been forced to work under threat, leading to chronic understaffing and the erosion of institutional expertise.

The plant’s location in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory makes its return both legally and logistically difficult. President Zelenskyy has stated that safe operation is impossible while Russian troops remain on-site. Meanwhile, IAEA inspectors face restricted access, and talks of US involvement are stalled due to legal hurdles and technical differences.

Even if the political situation changes, bringing Zaporizhzhia NPP back online would require significant repairs, investment, and diplomatic coordination. The timeline for such reconstruction remains uncertain, but discussions around its future are closely tied to broader questions of regional energy security, Ukrainian officials and international observers reported.

What can ZNPP do for Europe?

Restoring Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant would strengthen European energy stability by reviving cross-border electricity exports, reducing the EU’s reliance on Russian gas, and reintegrating a key nuclear asset into the European grid. 

It would also help stabilize Ukraine’s domestic energy system by relieving pressure on its other power plants—potentially freeing up capacity for those facilities to resume limited electricity exports to neighboring EU countries.

Forty-seven IAEA member states issued a joint statement in March calling on Russia to “immediately withdraw all unauthorized military and other personnel from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and return the plant to the full control of the competent Ukrainian authorities.” They emphasized that Russian occupation “unacceptably compromises the plant’s safety and security” and violates IAEA safety principles.

ZNPP is currently operating with only one functioning external power line, a situation Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator Energoatom has described as extremely dangerous: “If this last line is damaged, the plant will lose all external power—this is the final line keeping the reactors safe.”

Reconnecting the plant to a stable grid would enable synchronization with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), strengthening the EU’s internal infrastructure. Increased nuclear exports from Ukraine could also support the EU’s REPowerEU strategy to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

Ukraine’s continued transition to Westinghouse fuel—already in use at four of ZNPP’s reactors before the Russian occupation—further aligns it with EU energy standards and reduces its dependency on Russia’s Rosatom.

Regular IAEA monitoring could resume under Ukrainian oversight. Access to this has been severely limited under Russian control. Energoatom has consistently reported restrictions on inspector access, compromised staffing conditions, and increasing safety concerns at the plant.

While full restoration of ZNPP’s 5,700 MW capacity would require extensive technical work and time, regaining control is a critical step toward long-term energy stability and regional nuclear safety. 

Ending Russia’s occupation of the plant would not only shut down a dangerous chapter of nuclear blackmail but also reclaim a vital source of clean energy for Europe — symbolizing a unified pursuit of energy independence, climate resilience, and continental solidarity.