Ukraine's nuclear deal with Bulgarian firm sparks controversy
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved the purchase of Russian nuclear reactors from the Bulgarian company BEH EAD. The decision, supported by President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration, is causing controversy in the country, primarily due to the ongoing war with Russia and Ukraine's conflicting expectations.
On February 11, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a law allowing the nuclear power plant operator Energoatom to purchase two reactors from the Bulgarian enterprise BEH EAD. According to an analysis by the Eastern Studies Centre, these reactors were produced by Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Rosatom.
Ukraine wants to purchase Russian nuclear reactors
The opposition is against Ukraine's decision to purchase Russian nuclear reactors. "The Verkhovna Rada supports the expenditure of approximately $530 million CAD for Russian equipment for the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant. Spending money on Russian reactors during the war is some kind of misunderstanding!" – declared Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko from the former President Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity party.
"We will block these decisions. They are disgraceful!" – Honcharenko also wrote on the Telegram service.
The reactors that Ukraine plans to acquire will be used in the third and fourth units of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant. Construction of these units was halted in 1990 following the Chernobyl disaster. So far, 75% of the work on the third unit and 30% on the fourth has been completed.
The decision contradicts previous government announcements about building a distributed electricity generation system, resistant to Russian missile attacks. The justification for spending such a large sum is questionable when the energy sector has other urgent needs – assesses Slawomir Matuszak, Chief Expert of the Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Team at the Eastern Studies Centre.
The expert notes that the price of the reactors Ukraine wishes to purchase remains unclear. "The Bulgarian Parliament authorized the sale of the reactors for at least $640 million CAD, but this amount may prove to be much higher" – assesses the analyst from the Eastern Studies Centre.
Despite the controversy, President Volodymyr Zelensky supported the purchase of the reactors. The transaction could be finalized within a few months.
The reactors Ukraine intends to acquire were initially produced under a 2008 agreement with Bulgaria to construct the Belene power plant. The decision undermines Ukraine's efforts to include the Russian atomic sector in Western sanctions. The Eastern Studies Centre reminds us that in February 2023, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions on Atomstroyexport and Rosatom.
