The Verkhovna Rada has approved a draft law on the purchase of reactors from Bulgaria for the third and fourth power units of the Khmelnytskyy Nuclear Power Plant. This was announced by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
261 MPs voted in favour. Of these, 190 were from Servant of the People, 15 from Batkivshchyna, 16 from Platform for Life and Peace, 9 from For the Future, 14 from Trust, 12 from Restoring Ukraine, and five from non-factional parties.
"The good thing (if I may say so in this situation) is that it only allows for the purchase, not the start of construction," Zheleznyak said.The bill does not specify the contract amount, but it could be hundreds of millions of dollars. The Bulgarian parliament has previously given permission to negotiate the sale of equipment for at least €600 million.
MP Inna Sovsun clarified that the document does not allow for the completion of reactors, but only for the purchase of equipment.
"The Verkhovna Rada has just allowed Herman Halushchenko to buy Rosatom reactors for UAH 25 billion. 269 votes in favour. Although they cannot be used, as the Rada did not give permission for the completion of the third and fourth power units of the Khmelnytskyy NPP," she said on Facebook.
The reactors purchased by Bulgaria were made in Russia. This was one of the arguments of the bill's critics. They also pointed to the inexpediency of completing the construction in a time of war. The Ministry of Energy argued that new nuclear units were needed immediately due to the damage caused by Russia. The government also claimed that most of the equipment for these units was Ukrainian-made.
Units 3 and 4 of Khmelnytskyy NPP
The readiness of the third power unit is up to 80 per cent, and the fourth - up to 30 per cent. Their completion was frozen for several decades. After Russia's massive attacks on the energy sector, the Cabinet of Ministers decided that it was advisable to complete them.
If the plant is completed, it will become the most powerful in Europe.
Both unfinished units require VVER-1000 reactors, which were developed by Rosatom in the Soviet era.
The Spravdi website stated that Ukraine would not buy equipment from Rosatom.
"Ukraine completely refused to cooperate with Rosatom after the outbreak of a full-scale war, terminating all agreements with the Russian side in the nuclear sphere. Instead, direct commercial negotiations are underway with the Bulgarian government to purchase equipment and reactors of the Belene NPP, which is owned by the Bulgarian state energy company Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD. In general, Ukrainian nuclear energy and the construction of new power units at the Khmelnytskyy NPP are among the main areas of manipulation and fakes that are being ‘thrown’ into the Ukrainian media field," the StratCom Centre said.
Nashi Hroshi, citing other media outlets, wrote that the cost of the reactors in Bulgaria had increased from $600 million to $1.1 billion after their purchase. Energoatom accused the journalists of spreading fake news and said that "manipulative statements about the cost of Belene NPP reactor equipment, which is the property of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria, are inappropriate, as commercial negotiations are still ongoing. As of today, according to the decision of the Bulgarian parliament, the cost of this equipment is USD 600 million."