News
Publish date: October 2, 2008
News
Kiriyenko forecasted that by year’s end, the two countries would be signing contracts for nuclear fuel delivery to Ukraine.
“I think that by the end of the year, we will agree on all issues and sign a long term contract on the delivery of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian nuclear power plants for the period up to 2010,” he said.
The third and fourth blocks of the Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, as has already been agreed, be completed by Russia and the attraction of Russian organisatons for investment. But this is just part of a larger Ukrainian plan to develop nuclear power. The news agency Murman.ru reports that Ukraine is committed to building no fewer than 22 new reactors by 2030.
Russia also intends to earmark $17 million for the Chernobyl nuclear safety fund “Ukrytie,” or “Cover,” which will be used for increased radiation safety at the Chernobyl plant and it’s decommissioning.
In order for this to occur, a new sarcophagus for the destroyed fourth unit needs to be constructed. There are also plans to construct a storage unit for spent nuclear fuel for the first, second and third blocks, as well as completion of a factory for reprocessing solid radioactive waste.
Another $10 million was earmarked by Russia to help raise safety standards at the Armenian nuclear power state.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
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