Russia’s nuclear exports have surged since the invasion of Ukraine, boosting the Kremlin’s revenue and cementing its influence over a new generation of global buyers, as the US and its allies shy away from sanctioning the industry.
Atomic commerce creates relationships that last. It involves large upfront costs — with Russia usually providing the credit — and long-term agreements to service plants, train their operators and replenish fuel. That kind of financial and technical collaboration can strengthen diplomatic ties too. Rosatom provides about one-fifth of the enriched uranium needed for the 92 reactors in the US. In Europe, utilities that generate power for 100 million people rely on the company.
The figures show NATO members including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia continued to purchase Rosatom fuel last year, amid Ukrainian pleas to shut down the trade after Russia hijacked Europe’s "Rosatom receives billions of dollars every year from their business abroad," says Petro Kotin, the president of Ukraine’s nuclear utility Energoatom."The money that they’re receiving is financing the war.