US ownership of Ukraine’s power plants ‘best protection’ of energy infrastructure: White House

Trump and Zelensky discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants during the call, according to a readout of the conversation presented by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing.

Trump said the U.S. could be “very helpful in running the plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” adding that “American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”

It is unclear from the readout what energy infrastructure or nuclear power plants the U.S. could help run or acquire. Trump had stated that as part of peace deal talks, he had discussed Russian-occupied territory with Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe’s largest nuclear site — that has been under Russian control since the early days of the invasion.

“There’s a power plant involved, a very big power plant involved. Who is going to get the power plant, and who is going to get this and that, and so you know it’s not an easy process. But phase one is the ceasefire,” Trump continued.

The Trump-Zelensky phone call follows an hour-and-a-half-long conversation between the U.S. president and Russian President Vladimir Putin a day prior on March 18. Following the call, Putin said he had agreed to a limited 30-day pause on energy attacks.

Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure since 2022. In recent months, Moscow has intensified aerial campaigns with bombardments by swarms of Shahed drones a nightly occurrence.

Ukraine has also launched regular attacks on Russia’s fossil fuel production — a major revenue source for the Russian state. Zelensky stated after the call with Trump that he had also agreed to stop strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Material losses from Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have amounted to “billions of dollars,” according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.

Halushchenko noted that Russia has launched more than 30 mass strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the three years of its full-scale invasion.

Over the past three years, Russian troops have occupied territories hosting energy facilities producing 18 gigawatts (GW) of generation.