August M
As Western governments tighten pressure on Moscow, one crucial sector continues to sit awkwardly outside the sanctions net. Russia’s nuclear industry, deeply embedded in global energy systems, has proven far harder to isolate than oil, gas or arms.
That dependence has left policymakers grappling with trade-offs between security, climate goals and geopolitical risk.
Europe’s reliance
Nowhere is the dilemma clearer than in Europe. Nearly a fifth of the EU’s nuclear reactors are Soviet-designed and require fuel assemblies that only a handful of suppliers can provide, with Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom holding a dominant position across the fuel cycle.
According to the Bellona Environmental Foundation, EU imports of Russian nuclear fuel surged in 2023 as operators stockpiled supplies, before easing in 2024.
Even so, the bloc spent about €1bn a year on uranium and related services from Rosatom-linked entities over the past two years.
Brussels has pledged under its REPowerEU roadmap to phase out Russian energy, including nuclear power, but officials have acknowledged the process is technically complex and politically sensitive, notes The Kyiv Independent.
A global powerhouse
Reporting by the Kyiv Independent highlights why Rosatom has remained so difficult to sanction.
The corporation controls close to half of the world’s uranium enrichment capacity and is the leading exporter of nuclear reactors, with dozens of projects under construction at home and abroad, including in Iran.
While revenues from nuclear exports are modest compared with Russia’s oil and gas income, analysts say the strategic value is far greater. Nuclear projects lock countries into decades-long relationships, giving Moscow influence that extends well beyond energy markets.
Despite its central role in Russia’s military-industrial ecosystem, Rosatom has avoided full blocking sanctions from the US, EU and UK, all of which continue to rely on Russian nuclear materials.
Nuclear power at war
The risks of that relationship were laid bare after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian nuclear facilities were targeted from the earliest days of the conflict, with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant becoming the first operating reactor site attacked during a war.
Europe’s largest nuclear plant has remained under Russian control since 2022, a situation the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly described as “very precarious”.
Analysts warn that the fate of Zaporizhzhia will be one of the hardest issues to resolve in any peace settlement, given the long-term safety implications for the continent.
Sanctions debate
Experts argue that comprehensive sanctions on Rosatom would be among the most powerful tools available to pressure the Kremlin, but also among the most disruptive.
“A comprehensive ban would force rapid, expensive, and politically painful procurement and conversion efforts,” said George Voloshin, a specialist on sanctions policy.
The US banned imports of Russian enriched uranium in 2024 but allowed waivers until 2028 to prevent supply shocks. Ukraine remains the only country to have fully severed ties with Rosatom, notes The Kyiv Independent.
As the war grinds on, Rosatom’s protected status increasingly stands out as a gap in the sanctions regime, and a potential lever that Western governments have so far been reluctant to pull.
Sources: Kyiv Independent, Bellona Environmental Foundation, IAEA
