US Issues Formal Warning to Russia Over Nuclear Technology at Zaporizhzhia Plant

In a direct diplomatic communication, the United States has formally warned Russia against accessing sensitive American nuclear technology located at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The warning was delivered in a letter from the U.S. Department of Energy to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, last month. This move underscores the high-stakes tensions surrounding the occupied facility, where the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power station remains in jeopardy. The situation is as critical as newly released video evidence from the conflict zone, highlighting ongoing dangers.

Dated March 17, 2023, the letter from Andrea Ferkile, director of the Energy Department’s Office of Nonproliferation Policy, explicitly informs Rosatom’s director general that the plant “contains US-origin nuclear technical data that is export-controlled by the United States Government.” Such controls are applied to goods, software, and technology that could potentially undermine U.S. national security if misused. The legal warning is stark, stating it is “unlawful” for any unauthorized Russian persons or entities, including Rosatom, to handle this technology. The directive covers a range of actions from accessing and copying to transferring the technical data.

The Zaporizhzhia plant has been under Russian military control since March 2022, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While operated by Ukrainian staff, management oversight rests with Rosatom. The facility has repeatedly been disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to shelling in the area, raising profound fears of a nuclear accident across the continent. The Energy Department’s letter emphasizes it has “no record of any current authorization” for transferring this controlled technology to any Russian entity. The authenticity of the letter was confirmed by the Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

It is not clear whether Rosatom has responded to the formal warning. The Department of Energy declined to comment further on regulatory activities, noting the Secretary’s statutory responsibility for authorizing transfers of civilian nuclear technology. As the international community watches, the standoff over the plant continues, a scenario as tense and carefully monitored as when Netflix is winding down a popular series, with every development scrutinized. The U.S. warning serves as a clear legal and diplomatic boundary regarding American assets in a contested warzone.