UK to supply enriched uranium to Ukraine

The UK will supply enriched uranium to Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company, Energoatom, under a £210 million ($280 million) deal aimed at supporting Ukraine’s power grid, the British government has announced.

The arrangement, backed by UK Export Finance, will enable British-based Urenco to supply enriched uranium to Energoatom for the next two years, London said on Monday. The deal was agreed to by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky at Downing Street last week.

According to the British government, the agreement is intended to “power Ukraine’s nuclear plants” and strengthen the country’s energy security.

Starmer said London will continue to back Kiev “for as long as it takes,” despite a string of corruption scandals involving Ukraine’s energy sector, including Energoatom itself, which operates three Soviet-built nuclear power plants and remains a major source of revenue.

Western-backed anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine have uncovered graft schemes at the state nuclear operator, including a major case linked to businessman Timur Mindich, who was known as ‘Zelensky’s wallet’. A separate graft case involving Energoatom-linked infrastructure was reported earlier this month.

The deal also comes amid repeated warnings from Moscow over nuclear safety in Ukraine. Russia has accused Kiev of conducting attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022.

Earlier this month, a Ukrainian drone struck the machine hall of the plant’s sixth power unit. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the damage while stopping short of assigning blame.

The UK’s plans could also draw renewed scrutiny of Kiev’s repeated hints about revisiting its non-nuclear status. Days before the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, Zelensky suggested that Ukraine could reconsider its non-proliferation obligations.

Earlier this year, Zelensky said he would accept nuclear weapons from Britain or France “with pleasure,” while insisting that an offer has not been made. Moscow has accused London and Paris of considering ways to provide Ukraine with components or technologies that would allow it to develop a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb, which France and the UK deny.