Rosatom remains financial backbone of Putin’s regime - expert
This was reported by the head of the Ukrainian Expert Debunking of Russian Nuclear Fakes project, Dr. Maksym Strikha, who spoke at a press conference hosted by Ukrinform.
"To date, Rosatom's total international orders amount to approximately $140 billion. This is a huge financial pillar of the Putin regime," said Strikha.
Thus, the Russian corporation controls about a third of the world's uranium output, and is working on the construction of 34 nuclear power units in 11 countries.
In addition, 20 NPP units of the Russian VVER project are operating in Europe, for which Rosatom plans to produce fuel in a joint venture with the French-based Framatome.
Strikha emphasized that Rosatom is also a defense company. He cited the statement by Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev, who said he was "proud of the staff of the nuclear arms complex, which literally lives by the military agenda."
"However, the West has not yet done anything to curb Rosatom's influence," the scholar noted.
As reported, in early May, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of a draft law banning the import of enriched uranium from Russia. The bill is yet to be signed by President Joe Biden.
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs on May 16 supported sanctions against Rosatom and persons who pose security threats to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the facility that has been occupied by Russia since spring 2022.
