German Galushchenko on the imposition of sanctions against rosatom: 2024 will be a turning point

Ukraine is actively working with international partners to remove obstacles to the imposition of sanctions on the russian nuclear industry. This was stated by Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko during the broadcast of the national telethon.

According to the head of the Ministry of Energy, the issue of imposing sanctions is on the agenda, while there are objective obstacles to making a decision.

“Sanctions against russian gas and coal were imposed quite quickly because it is possible to find these goods quickly on another market. The nuclear sector is much more complicated. There were key obstacles to the introduction of sanctions in this area – russian nuclear fuel and russia’s position in the uranium market,” the Minister said.

German Galushchenko explained that there used to be types of nuclear fuel for which russia had a monopoly on production. This was a deterrent to sanctions.

“This problem no longer exists. Together with our American partners, we have produced an alternative fuel to the russian one. And today most countries have signed contracts to buy it. This means that these countries are already moving away from russia,” the Minister said.

The situation on the uranium market is more complicated. German Galushchenko explained that in order to displace russia from this market, countries need to increase uranium production and make significant investments in the industry.

“This year, many countries have moved in this direction. The U.S. has allocated USD 2.2 billion a year for the uranium industry. We have also signed relevant contracts with the UK and Canada. Yes, the sanctions issue is taking a bit longer than we would have liked. But I think 2024 will be a turning point,” the Minister said.