Russia says will never cede control of Zaporizhzhia NPP; 'It belongs to our territory'

Ukraine's energy official Petro Kotin recently said that there were indications suggesting Russia was planning to withdraw its forces from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia has denied this claim and stated that it has no plan to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. According to a report from Newsweek, Russia's foreign ministry has said that it remains in full control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. 

A foreign ministry spokesperson of Russia reportedly said that withdrawal of Russian forces from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is out of the question. The spokesperson added that Russia will not be transferring the control of nuclear power plant to some other 3rd party. Russia believes that only Russia is capable of ensuring the nuclear power plant's safety. "The station is located on Russian territory and is fully controlled by Russia," said the spokesperson, as per the Newsweek report. 

Russia claims Zaporizhzhia is Russian territory 

Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian oblasts that Russia has annexed. The other three oblasts are Khersonn, Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia officially annexed these territories on 30th September. It is important to flag that whilst Russia has annexed all these four oblasts, on the ground, it does not actually control the complete territory of these oblasts. A significant amount of them are under Ukrainian control, due to the success of the Ukrainian counter offensive. Nuclear power plants are part of critical infrastructure and it is unlikely that Russia will give up on its control easily. 

Whilst Russia considers Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant a Russian asset, the Ukrainians and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) considers the nuclear power plant Ukrainian. Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with a total of six nuclear reactors. The power plant was built in the 1980s during the days of the USSR. The reactors at the power plant are of the pressurized water reactor (PWR) type, and they have a combined electrical output of about 5,700 megawatts. The power plant plays a vital role in supplying electricity to Ukraine and the surrounding region.

Current state of the war

As snowfall in eastern Europe begins, the temperature lowers, the pace of the war slows down. Russian forces have withdrawn from Kherson city and they are currently standing guard on the eastern side of the Dnipro river. Moscow has changed its battlefield strategy by adopting a defensive posture, to boost its territory to soldier ratio. Russia is currently digging trenches on the eastern side of Dnipro and the primary challenge Russian soldiers are facing is trench foot.