Ukrainian nuclear reactors get fuel previously produced only in Russia - energy minister

For the first time, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine loaded 440-type reactors operating at Ukrainian power plants with fuel that had previously been produced exclusively in the Russian Federation.

The Minister of Energy of Ukraine, German Galushchenko, announced this on the air of the national telethon, reports Ukrinform.

"Today is a historic day, a historic event, because for the first time we loaded 440-type reactors with fuel, which had been produced by Westinghouse together with Ukrainian specialists," he emphasized.

The minister noted that “today we put an end to Russia's monopoly on this type of fuel.”

Galushchenko explained that until recently, this type of fuel had been produced exclusively by Russia, and therefore there was a corresponding dependence of many countries on the Russian Federation.

"Today we will put an end to this. Certain documents have already been signed with a number of countries such as Finland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. In the future, we will work to completely replace Russia in this segment," he added.

The minister explained that the corresponding step is important not only from the point of view of supply or generation of electricity, "it is very much connected with the issues of sanctions against the Russian nuclear power industry."

As reported, the project was developed by Energoatom specialists together with their colleagues from Westinghouse.