Russia on Friday requested the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s assistance in mediating talks with the United States over how to handle American nuclear fuel stored at a Ukrainian power plant currently under Russian control.
Russia wants to restart the idled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which lies near one of the front lines of the war in Ukraine and once generated a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. The fuel question is one of numerous issues standing in the way.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said this week that restarting it was currently impossible because of the lack of a stable power supply and water for cooling.
Inspectors from the IAEA reported hearing repeated gunfire and explosions near the facility — incidents likely linked to drone activity — underscoring the heightened risk posed by military operations around the plant.
Russian nuclear energy chief Alexei Likhachev said after meeting Grossi on Friday that Russia was willing either to use the fuel, supplied by U.S. company Westinghouse, or to remove it entirely and return it to the United States.
However, questions remain over intellectual property claims raised by both Westinghouse and U.S. officials.
Westinghouse and U.S. energy officials had previously raised intellectual property concerns with Russia in connection with the fuel issue, he said in televised comments.
State news agency RIA quoted Grossi as saying the IAEA was willing to mediate.
Russia and Ukraine have each accused the other of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, raising the risk of a grave accident.
Likhachev said Russia had prepared a “comprehensive plan” for the phased commissioning of the plant but it could only be implemented if all military threats were removed.
The facility was occupied by Russia in March 2022, shortly its troops entered Ukraine at the start of the war. It has six reactors, the last of which stopped generating electricity in September 2022.
(With inputs from Reuters)
