Quoted by propaganda agency Interfax, Likhachov was commenting on the “peace deal” the United States is pressuring Kyiv and Moscow into signing. According to a draft of the ceasefire agreement leaked last week, Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant would be administered by the United States, with “both sides” having access to the electricity it generates.
In March, Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the ZNPP is “a Russian nuclear facility” that cannot be transferred to Ukraine or any other state. Then, on April 27, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia “did not receive a proposal” from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding handing over control of the plant to Ukraine or the United States.
During talks in Paris on April 17, Washington proposed that Ukraine resume control of the facility through U.S.-led oversight and management while sharing power distribution between the parties. Later, during negotiations in London, Ukraine and its partners presented a document on ending the war that, among other points, called for Ukraine to regain control of the plant “with U.S. involvement.”