Ukrainian NPPs should be provided with domestic fuel – Head of State

President Petro Poroshenko stresses the importance of providing Ukrainian nuclear power plants with domestic fuel.

“The next strategic step in the supply of fuel should be the provision of Ukrainian nuclear power plants with domestic fuel,” the Head of State noted at the meeting on nuclear energy development and enhancing nuclear safety at the Khmelnytskyi NPP during a working visit to Khmelnytskyi region.

According to him, the work in this direction is already under way. “I am convinced that this is a very ambitious, timely task. It is about creating our own nuclear fuel production plant, which is part of Energoatom. We only dreamed of this. And I want to emphasize that now it is being realized during the war,” Petro Poroshenko said.

According to the President, the production of this fuel by Energoatom is appropriate because the company is the only consumer of nuclear fuel and already produces some of its components. “It facilitates the implementation of the project,” the President said.

According to the President, another important step towards liberation from Russian nuclear blackmail is the construction of a centralized storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.

“To date, this is a question of both security and economy. It has finally started in 2017. The construction is carried out due to the American loan, which I agreed upon during the negotiations with the President of the United States. It is 250 million dollars. The American lending agency provides this. This was made possible due to the trust in the country’s political leadership, in the Ukrainian Government, in Energoatom. Lenders believed in the project,” Petro Poroshenko said.

“Why was this possible? Because we agreed on the audit of Energoatom and we had nothing to hide. Vice versa. The audit was conducted and now the company has a high credit rating. That, incidentally, provides economic indicators, because there is a favorable lending rate, as well as fantastic opportunities for the future projects,” the President noted.