Ukraine’s energy minister says deepening nuclear cooperation with Sweden a ‘priority’

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that the deepening of nuclear cooperation between his country and Sweden is a “priority.”


“Cooperation in the nuclear industry between our countries is a priority. We were able to show other countries that the future of the nuclear industry is possible without Russia,” Halushchenko said during a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Ebba Busch in Kyiv on Monday, according to a ministry statement.


Halushchenko said that specialists from Ukraine’s national nuclear energy provider Energoatom have worked together with their counterparts at the Westinghouse nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Sweden to create technology allowing them to use Western-made fuel in VVER reactors.

This fuel is now being utilized at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, the statement quoted Halushchenko as saying. It said that both parties discussed the prospects of deepening cooperation to further remove Russia from Europe’s nuclear fuel and atomic technologies market.


"We remain faithful to the goals of green transition. At the same time, the Ukrainian experience gained during the last war years proves that it is important to have a strong base generation for the stability of the energy system,” the Ukrainian energy minister said.

For her part, Busch said renewable energy plays a leading role in Sweden, and that Ukraine’s experience in war conditions has proved the importance of stable and reliable generation, which she described to be crucial for the country's energy security.

"You can't build an energy system only for peacetime... That's why Sweden plans to develop not only renewable energy, but also nuclear energy. And we see significant potential in cooperation with Ukraine in this direction," she said.