President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call on March 19, during which Trump suggested American ownership of Ukraine's power plants could help ensure their security.
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 on March 13 said 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 said on March 13.
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.
Overnight on March 19, Russia launched an aerial attack on Ukraine, targeting energy infrastructure in some parts of the country.
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 said 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 said on Feb. 24 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.
Kateryna Denisova
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