The USA and the EU have paid 1.7 billion dollars to Rosatom since the beginning of the war
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The USA and the countries of the European Union did not refuse to purchase uranium and nuclear technologies from Russia, despite the sanctions. Since the beginning of the war, they have concluded deals with Rosatom worth at least 1.7 billion dollars. This is stated in investigations Associated Press.
Formally, cooperation in the field of nuclear technologies does not fall under EU and US sanctions. Western countries depend on Russian fuel for civilian reactors and on the reactors themselves. Russian uranium accounts for 12% of all uranium consumption in the USA and 17% – in European Union. According to Eurostat, EU countries alone spent 828 million dollars in 2022 on Russian nuclear production, including reactors and equipment.
Purchases of Russian fuel and technologies are growing. According to the analysts of ImportGenius, if in 2020 the USA imported 6.3 tons of uranium from Russia, then in 2022 – already 12.5 tons. According to the UN, France bought 110 tons of uranium from Russia in 2021, and 312 tons in 2022.
There are 19 nuclear reactors of Russian design operating in Europe. Currently, Rosatom is building 33 new reactors in 10 countries, including one in France.
The reduction of cooperation with Russia in the nuclear industry is advocated by both activists for the reduction of nuclear energy and officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for sanctions against Rosatom after Russian troops took control of the Zaporozhye NPP. He emphasized that the Russian company, which took over the management of the NPP, threatens the security not only of Ukraine, but also of Europe.
Of the European countries, only Sweden completely refused to purchase nuclear fuel and technologies. Finland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia are also taking steps in this direction. They are looking for other suppliers. One of them can be Kazakhstan – the largest producer of uranium in the world.
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