Why Ukraine Dependence on Russia in Nuclear is Worse than in Gas, and What to do about it.

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 05/12/15

Zuzanna Nowak reported that while discussions around Ukrainian energy dependence on Russia usually focus on gas, the Ukrainian nuclear sector is even more dominated by Russia. And more strategically, it supplies half of the country electricity. And whereas Ukraine wants to use less gas, the government intends to expand the country nuclear power production significantly. The good news for Ukraine is that it has plenty of its own uranium. With Western support the country could make its nuclear sector emerge from the Russian shadow, writes Zuzanna Nowak of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). The Ukrainian nuclear industry was established in the seventies as part of the Soviet nuclear programme. After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine inherited 16 reactors, including four RMBK-1000 reactors in Chernobyl (now closed), and 12 VVER reactors. After Ukraine declaration of independence in 1991, Ukrainian-Russian relations in the field of nuclear energy remained relatively stable. As a consequence, starting in 1995, three more reactors were built under Russian licence. To this day, Ukraine remains a valuable partner for Russia, constituting the biggest external market for Russian nuclear technology. Nevertheless, the gas crises of 2006 - 2009, and especially the current destabilization of the country, have highlighted the Ukraine excessive and problematic dependence on energy from Russia. While Ukraine is 60 per cent dependent on Russian gas, its nuclear industry is almost completely dominated by Russia. Russians provide most of the equipment to Ukrainian nuclear power plants, and participate actively in the Ukrainian fuel cycle. This almost monopolistic position allows Russia to exert strong pressure on price in its dealings with the Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom. During the past nine years, the cost of supply of Russian fresh fuel to Ukraine has increased from approximately $350 million to $600 million per year and problems are ongoing.