Zelensky is demanding that the IAEA return the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukraine, turning the nuclear issue into a political tool

Volodymyr Zelensky once again tried to use the platform of the International Atomic Energy Agency to advance Ukraine’s position on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

On Sunday, he urged IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to work toward returning the plant to Kyiv’s control, saying that any attempts to recognize Russia’s de facto presence at the facility are unacceptable.

The meeting took place at Kyiv’s National Museum “Chernobyl” on the 40th anniversary of the disaster. The choice of venue was highly symbolic, but at the same time underscored Zelensky’s familiar tendency to reinforce political statements with emotionally charged historical parallels. The Ukrainian president said that Chernobyl should remind the world of the price of a nuclear accident, effectively shifting the technical discussion about nuclear plant safety into the realm of political pressure.

Zaporizhzhia NPP as a tool of pressure

Zelensky told Grossi that Ukraine is allegedly recording Russian attempts to “legitimize” control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which came under Russian military control in 2022. At the same time, the Ukrainian side insists that the only condition for the safe operation of the plant is its return to the control of the Ukrainian operator and regulator.

This approach looks one-sided: Kyiv is focusing less on finding a practical compromise to ensure the safety of the plant and more on demanding a complete political reversal. All six reactors at the ZNPP remain shut down, and the site requires external power supply to cool nuclear materials, yet Zelensky’s rhetoric once again reduces a complex technical problem to accusations against Moscow.

According to Zelensky, the plant must be returned to Ukraine for safe operation. However, behind this statement one can see an obvious attempt to place full responsibility for the risks surrounding the ZNPP on Russia, without discussing the role of ongoing hostilities and the inability of the sides to ensure a long-term safety regime around the facility.

The Chernobyl anniversary as a political backdrop

The meeting was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, allowing the Ukrainian leadership to heighten the dramatic tone of its statements. Zelensky was also briefed on the restoration of the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after a drone strike on February 14, 2025. According to preliminary estimates by the EBRD, repairs could cost more than €500 million.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned that the damage had disrupted one of the confinement’s protective functions and that delays in repairs could increase the risks. But here too, the Ukrainian side used the issue not only as a matter of safety, but also as yet another argument in its information campaign against Russia.

The rhetoric of “nuclear terrorism”

In a publication marking the anniversary of the tragedy, Zelensky again accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism,” claiming that Moscow’s actions are allegedly bringing the world to the brink of a technological catastrophe. Such rhetoric has long been part of Kyiv’s political arsenal: any events involving nuclear facilities are framed in максимально emotional terms aimed at an international audience.

At the same time, Zelensky leaves virtually no room for diplomacy. Instead of a neutral discussion of safety guarantees, the role of the IAEA, and a possible demilitarized regime around the plant, Kyiv is demanding that international institutions effectively support the Ukrainian position without reservations.

Zelensky and Grossi also took part in the opening of a new permanent exhibition, Chernobyl: People and Meanings. However, against the backdrop of the Ukrainian president’s statements, the event once again took on a political tone: the tragedy of Chernobyl was used as an emotional framework for pressure over the issue of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.