Ukrainian lawmakers agree to buy controversial nuclear reactors

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Parliament approved a controversial bill that allows the government to buy two unused nuclear reactors, from Bulgaria to at least $ 600 million-a draft that faced sharp criticism of its high cost and its schedule for a period of years.

The Ukrainian government plans to stabilize the reactions at the Nuclear Power Station in Khamilitsky, western Ukraine, on the pretext that it will help strengthen a The network that is paralyzed by Russian attacks, not relentlessly. Bulgaria bought them more than a decade of the state’s nuclear giant, Rosatom, but they did not come into effect.

Energy experts and Anti -corruption activists Suppose the reactors will take years to install and that the money will be better spent on buying weapons or on immediate solutions to enhance energy flexibility in Ukraine, such as installing small gas turbines throughout the country.

There are also fears that the project can serve as an interface for money laundering, given the history of corruption issues related to the Ministry of Energy in Ukraine and Energatom, the state -owned nuclear company that oversees the purchase. Many senior officials and employees have been arrested in recent months and charged him take Bribes.

The purchase of reactors has caught great attention in the diplomatic and political circles in Kiev in recent months, because it affects some of the most urgent challenges facing the nation that the war torn today and in the near future: rebuilding its energy infrastructure, and determining the best place to allocate limited financial resources and fighting firm corruption.

He said that we are Senson, the opposition legislator sitting in the Parliament’s Energy Committee, in an interview on the phone: “It will be a test.” She was one of the 39 legislators to vote against the purchase, while 261 voted in favor.

Ms. Sofson indicated that the Ukrainian Parliament still has the law to approve the reactors’ fixation before the project can move forward. She said she was concerned about how supporters of Kiev’s supporters realized this, at a time when President Trump was elected our support for Ukraine in doubt.

She said: “Through multiple corruption plans for Energatom, I think this decision may harm Ukraine’s reputation as the country that tries to fight corruption and not feed it.”

President Folodimir Zelinski is expected to sign a bill in the law soon. On Tuesday, it is Project supportSaying that he will prevent power outages in winter and reduce electricity prices. Critics were rejected as people seeking to “fill their pockets, or from their shepherds, with money from the most expensive energy sources.”

As most of the thermal power plants and hydroelectric power are destroyed, or severely damaged by Russian attacks, Ukraine relies on the three three nuclear power plants to provide more than half of the country’s electricity.

Russia has declined to attack the nuclear plants directly, which could lead to a catastrophic disaster – although it tried to paralyze its power to transfer energy Destroy the sub -stations that connect them to the network. Russia has acquired the largest nuclear factory in Ukraine, the six interactive Zaporizhzia factory, at the beginning of the war, and no longer provides energy to the network.

The German Galushchenko, Ukraine’s Energy Minister, argued that expanding the country’s nuclear power capacity is the only applicable solution to ensure long -term energy security. He emphasized that the purchase of reactions from Bulgaria, instead of creating a new option, is the fastest and most effective option.

Energatom also has Argue Nuclear power plants in Ukraine, which dates back to the Soviet era, depends on the reactors that were built with Soviet technology that can only be obtained from the countries of the former Soviet mass such as Bulgaria. But the nuclear company also has plans to build two other reactors at the KHMELNYTSKYI factory using Western technologies.

The project’s critics say it is more problematic, that it will take years to install the reactors, while Kyiv has little time to waste its power network. They argue that the money will be better spent on repairing sub -stations and thermal power plants that were damaged by strikes or developing traditional generation capacity.

It is also unclear how the government will finance the project after the European Union Decline To help pay the purchase price. The government is tied in criticism and has it Already raised taxes. In addition, the deal with Bulgaria will only provide plants, not uranium to operate them.

Putting more nuclear reactors in the war zone will also increase the risks. The war has already sparked warnings about a A possible nuclear disaster At the Zaporizhzia factory, which is located near the confrontation line It was hit again and again By artillery and small fires weapons.