US President Donald Trump proposed an American takeover of Ukraine’s power plants during a phone call with Vladimir Zelensky, suggesting it would be the best way to protect the infrastructure, the White House has said.

The Ukrainian leader later insisted that he only spoke about the Russian-held Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with Trump – not the whole Ukrainian power generating industry.

The US president held a phone conversation with Zelensky on Wednesday, describing it as a “very good” discussion.

Shortly after the call, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz issued a statement, saying that “President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants. He said that the US could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.”

“American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,” it read.

During a video-conference with journalists later in the day, Zelensky contradicted the US statement, stating that he and Trump “talked exclusively about one station, which is under temporary occupation by Russia.”

According to the Ukrainian leader, Trump asked him if Kiev would consider American investment in the Zaporozhye nuclear plant. “I answered ‘yes’ – if there is an opportunity to modernize it, invest money and so on – we are ready to discuss this with you,” he said.

The power plant, which is the largest in Europe, has been under Russian control since March 2022. In the fall of 2022, Zaporozhye Region officially joined Russia together with Kherson Region and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

Throughout the conflict, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the facility, and the Russian Defense Ministry has said that several attempts by Ukrainian assault units to retake it have been repelled.

The Trump-Zelensky phone call comes a day after the US president held a conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. They discussed the Ukraine crisis, with Trump floating the idea for Moscow and Kiev to halt long-range strikes on energy infrastructure.

Putin backed the proposal and ordered a halt to such strikes immediately. The Russian military said it had to shoot down seven kamikaze drones en route to Ukrainian energy facilities when the order was issued.

Ukraine’s leader has publicly backed the idea as well, albeit expressing concerns about how exactly the truce would be implemented and monitored. Following the phone talk with Trump, Zelensky appeared to offer a broader definition of targets that should be avoided during the period, including unspecified “civilian infrastructure.”

“One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it,” Zelensky said in a statement.

Overnight, Kiev attacked an oil pumping facility in Russia’s south with three fixed-wing drones. The strike sparked a massive blaze at the site, the Russian military said. The attack was “yet another provocation deliberately staged by the Kiev regime to derail the peace initiatives coming from the US president,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.