Izvestia newspaper reported that the leaders of European nuclear power plants have warned governments that they cannot refuse to cooperate with Russia. From technology, fuel chains to operating costs and safety, the "escape from Russia" problem in the nuclear field is recognized as much more complex than political statements.
Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom said it did not record a decrease in orders from EU countries. According to Rosatom, contracts with "unfriendly" countries still contribute about 1/4 of the corporation's international revenue.
According to leaders of nuclear power plants in Europe, the key reason why the "cut-off" cannot happen quickly lies in deep dependence on technology and supply chains built by Russia over decades.
Hard-to-replace chain
Currently, 5 EU countries - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia - are operating VVER reactors designed by the Soviet Union/Russia. These reactors not only use specialized fuels but are also associated with service, maintenance and technical ecosystems from Russia.
Operators warn that the transition to a new supplier cannot happen "overnight". Businesses like Westinghouse Electric Company or Framatome, although already in the market, still need many years to complete testing, licensing and safety procedures.
Some countries have begun to diversify supply sources, but most still maintain contracts with Rosatom in parallel.
Technical and infrastructure barriers
One of the biggest reasons pointed out is that Europe does not have enough capacity to comprehensively replace Russia's nuclear value chain. From uranium enrichment, fuel conversion to post-processing, the current system still depends significantly on Moscow's services.
Experts emphasize that the development of new nuclear fuel requires strict procedures, lasting many years to ensure absolute safety. Hasty conversion can potentially pose operating risks - something that nuclear power plants cannot accept.
It is the "package" model - from uranium mining, enrichment, reactor design to used fuel treatment - that helps Rosatom maintain its special position in the global market.
Politics is unlikely to go faster than reality
Although the EU has set out a roadmap to reduce dependence within the REPowerEU framework, operators admit that the actual progress is much slower than expected. Warnings from the nuclear power industry show that the policy cannot be separated from technical limits.
A typical example is Hungary, which still maintains deep cooperation with Russia in the Paks-2 nuclear power plant project. The fuel diversification plan is only expected to be implemented from 2027-2028, showing that the transition process will take many years.
Even in the context of tension, high-tech fields such as nuclear power still require a certain level of international cooperation. The International Experimental Nuclear Reactor (ITER) project in France - where Russia, the EU, the US and many countries are participating - is clear evidence.
