\n The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine, and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the\u00a0US\u00a0Department of Energy sent to Russia\u2019s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month.\n <\/p>\n
\n In the letter, which was reviewed by CNN and is dated March 17, 2023, the director of the Energy Department\u2019s Office of Nonproliferation Policy, Andrea Ferkile, tells Rosatom\u2019s director general that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine \u201ccontains US-origin nuclear technical data that is export-controlled by the United States Government.\u201d\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Goods, software and technology are subject to US export controls when it is possible for them to be used in a way that undermines US national security interests.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n The Energy Department letter comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is the largest nuclear power station in Europe and\u00a0sits in a part of the Zaporizhzhia region that Russia occupied after its invasion of Ukraine last February. The plant has frequently been disconnected from Ukraine\u2019s power grid due to intense Russian shelling in the area, raising fears across Europe of a nuclear accident.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n While the plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian staff,\u00a0Rosatom manages it.\u00a0The Energy Department warned Rosatom in the letter that\u00a0it is \u201cunlawful\u201d for any Russian citizens or entities to handle the US technology.\n <\/p>\n
\n CNN has reached out to Rosatom for comment.\n <\/p>\n
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