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Over the past three years, Ukraine has become completely independent from Russia in this regard.
Ukraine is able to independently meet its demand for nuclear fuel, without supplies from the Russian Federation, since over the past three years the country has made significant progress in implementing nuclear energy projects, according to Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk.
"Over the past three years, we have become completely independent from the Russian Federation. If Russia ceases supplies of nuclear fuel, we will be able to provide for ourselves and operate without the supply of nuclear fuel from Russia," the minister told a Kyiv briefing Wednesday.
According to the minister, Ukraine has also made significant progress on three nuclear facilities. In particular, this is the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility, the Ukraine-EU Energy Bridge, as well as a nuclear fuel production plant, which is under joint construction with Westinghouse, at the Yuzhnoukrainksa NPP.
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"We have practically completed the construction of the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility and moved away from Russia in nuclear fuel transportation. We have our own facility, which allows the state to save $200 million annually," said Nasalyk.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Minister Nasalyk stated that a nuclear fuel production plant could be built in Ukraine in three years.
According to the State Statistics Service, in January-June 2019, Ukraine imported fuel assemblies, that is, fuel for nuclear power plants, totaling $100.991 million. Half of the supplies came from Sweden and another half – from Russia.
As part of the diversification of nuclear fuel supply sources for nuclear plants and the reduction of dependence on a single source – the Russian company TVEL – the state-owned Energoatom in April 2014 entered into an agreement with the American Westinghouse, which produces fuel at its plant in Sweden.