Donald Trump came away from his call with Vladimir Putin this week bemoaning the loss of “blood and treasure” on both sides of the Ukraine war.

While even he knows he cannot bring the dead back to life, he believes “treasure” can be salvaged from the destruction.

Weeks ago, the US president was trying to cut a deal for Ukraine’s critical minerals but he now appears to have found a new target: its nuclear power plants.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, held by Russia, is Europe’s biggest and supplied more than 20 per cent of Ukraine’s energy before the 2022 invasion.

It is one of four nuclear power plants in the country and Mr Trump has made a pitch to bring all of them under Washington’s control.