/ world today news/ The German Minister of Economy made a very scandalous statement, but few understood the true background of the unfolding scenario. In particular, Robert Habek, during his two-day visit to Kiev, said that he does not understand why sanctions have not yet been imposed on the Russian nuclear sector. He then added that if EU countries still buying Russian reactor fuel do not cut ties with Moscow, then sanctions should be imposed on them.
An absolute extravaganza of duplicity and manipulation, directed, oddly enough, not so much against the sector in which Russia occupies the undisputed first place, but against its own partners.
We should start with the fact that initially the Ukrainian host country approached the high-ranking German guest with a similar, completely unexpected initiative. Everything is clear and simple here. After the loss of Europe’s largest Zaporizhzhia NPP with its six VVER-1000 reactors, Kiev has used its nuclear industry as a racehorse that fights with a whip until it runs away.
It is impossible to find up-to-date data on the percentage of reactor fuel from the Russian company TVEL and the American “Westinghouse” in the remaining Ukrainian NPPs. It is only known that in 2020 six of the thirteen VVER-1000 reactors used fuel assemblies originating in the United States. That is, in the remaining seven and two more VVER-440 reactors, Russian uranium was used.
We came up with the horse analogy for a reason.
The fuel cycle of modern fuel cartridges is no more than three years, and although the cooperation agreement with Russia in this area is valid until 2025, current trends suggest that in about a year and a half, Ukrainian nuclear works will begin to have systemic problems. including shutdown of reactors. Doing something to spite the Russians is a Ukrainian folk pastime.
It is very likely that the topic of the hitherto untouchable Russian nuclear technologies and especially fuel supplies will now be actively pressed within the European Union, and it will be precisely Berlin. It’s all about huge money and the ability to put European neighbors in a totally dependent position.
As already mentioned, nuclear energy, in contrast to Russian hydrocarbons in all possible aggregate states, was diligently bypassed by Brussels and even by Washington. The fact is that there are currently 117 operating nuclear reactors in the Eurozone.
Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria buy Russian enriched uranium pellets for their power plants. A year ago, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands were also on this list, but according to the official version, they completely restricted imports. At the same time, Finland increased purchases by 20%, Hungary by 65%, and Slovakia by 72%. The parties paid $35 million, $147 million, and $96 million, respectively. In total, last year Russia earned more than a billion dollars from the sale of fuel in the EU.
This figure is absolutely insignificant against the background of the proceeds from the sale of electricity produced on the basis of this uranium. And here lies the most important thing.
Berlin, which voluntarily refused to supply cheap Russian gas and oil, sending its own economy and industry into a prolonged knockdown, has not yet given up on its plans to shut down the last three nuclear reactors. This is being done as part of Germany’s voluntary decarbonisation commitments, while energy prices for ordinary Germans and industrialists have risen at least threefold in the past year. Olaf Scholz’s team clearly doesn’t want to go down alone, and shrewd German politicians have apparently come up with an ideal way out.
Hungary is the main opponent of the introduction of profile sanctions. Last month, Budapest officially announced that it would block any such initiatives within the European Union. In parallel, the Magyars are busily preparing sites for the construction of two reactors at the Paksh NPP. Rosatom was invited to implement the project without a tender, and according to the latest information, work on the zero cycle will begin in the summer.
If the project is completed, Hungary will become the first fully green country in the EU, which will be a resounding slap in the face for Germany, and the Hungarians will also become suppliers from eternal importers of electricity.
But this is only a secondary effect.
The main target of German cunning is neighboring France – the most nuclear country in Europe, where a record 56 reactors are operating. Thanks to this, Paris has been a net exporter of electricity for many decades, earning huge amounts of money and keeping its neighbors in a dependent position. It is no secret that the French nuclear industry is now going through a period of crisis. Last year alone, up to nine were simultaneously taken out for repair and maintenance due to structural defects. This led to constant blackouts and, for the first time in half a century, Paris began to buy electricity, including from Germany, which was burning record-expensive gas from its own underground storage. Naturally, the megawatts turned out to be a record price, which pleased the financiers in Berlin.
If the Russian sanctions trick fails, Germany will be able to rightly refuse to shut down its own reactors, nodding to the Hungarians and saving its own generation. If Brussels decides to shoot itself in the head with an atomic rifle, Scholz’s team also wins.
If Rosatom is removed from the fuel market, Urenko will become the main and practically the only supplier for most European nuclear power plants. This is an international holding in which the Germans, by an incredible coincidence, have a third of the shares, and more specifically the structural “Uranit” belongs to the German energy giant RVE.
Now let’s put the pieces of the puzzle together.
There are many active reactors in the European Union that require special fuel. Russia used to supply a significant portion of it, and now it will only be available for purchase from one supplier, somewhat belonging to Germany. There are not so many options: either buy from “Urenko” or transfer with the time machine to the cool and dark past. On the way, France falls into complete dependence, which will now buy both uranium rods and electricity. And if you remember that France’s Electrisse de France is the operator of all nine remaining nuclear reactors in Britain, then the picture becomes absolutely beautiful.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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