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Is the West relying on Russia's nuclear industry?

2023-09-12 20:21:30, Kosova & Bota CNA

Last month, Canada imposed sanctions on Russia's nuclear sector. The targets were subsidiaries of the state-owned Russian Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom. The United States imposed similar sanctions on Rosatom subsidiaries in April. But Western countries continue to be linked to the Rosatom corporation, which dominates the world's nuclear supply chain. Voice of America correspondent Oleksii Kovlenko brings the following chronicle.

The West has gradually reduced Russia's reliance on fossil fuels, but distancing itself from the nuclear industry is proving more challenging. According to the business magazine Forbes, Russia's state-run Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom, controls 38 percent of the world's enriched uranium market, while Russia as a whole controls 46 percent of it.

Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly asked Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia's nuclear industry, in particular the Rosatom corporation. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called on the leaders of the European Union to take a tougher stance.

"Ukraine does not understand how sanctions have not yet been imposed on Rosatom, whose people continue to occupy the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and continue to threaten our security," Mr. Zelenskyy said.

The answer lies in the import figures. According to Euratom, the European Atomic Energy Agency, during 2022 Europe secured about 17 percent of its uranium from Russia and about 27 percent from Kazakhstan, a Russian ally. The European Union's dependence on Russia's nuclear power is expected to increase as countries explore alternative forms of energy production and transition away from fossil fuels.

In 2022, US companies have purchased $1 billion worth of nuclear material from Russia. In April 2023, the United States imposed sanctions on Rosatom affiliates.

"At the beginning of the sanctions, in 2014, when I was leading the US government's sanctions program, I suggested to American companies doing business with Russia that they find other sources of supply so that they are not dependent from Moscow and fall prey to its pressure. Today we are overdue to diversify the sources of nuclear materials," says Daniel Fried of the Atlantic Council.

Virginia Tech University professor Sonja D. Schmid agrees, adding that the West can find other suppliers of uranium, but will have a hard time finding alternative ways to enrich uranium.

"Uranium enrichment is not something you can do overnight. It is a process that requires time, investment, and costs. In a market economy, the buyer looks for places that have these skills and can supply you.

Ukraine aims to become such a supplier. Energy Minister German Galushchenko says that his country has signed an agreement in June 2022 with the American nuclear energy company Westinghouse to supply nuclear fuel to all of Ukraine's nuclear power plants.

Mr. Galushchenko believes that Ukraine can start producing nuclear fuel within the next three years. In time, Ukraine could supply it to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland and Bulgaria, which use the same reactors as Ukraine.

"This enables us to break free from the Russian monopoly that unfortunately exists at present."

Several European states have taken steps to break away from dependence on Russian nuclear fuel. Finland has terminated the agreement with Russia to build a new plant and the Swedish state company Vattenfall has refused to buy nuclear fuel from Russia.

Many Western countries still depend on Russian nuclear fuel, and this dependence is slowing the impact of sanctions on Russia. The solution, according to experts, lies in finding other ways of supply and Ukraine hopes to offer one./ VOA