Ukraine in talks with Bulgaria to buy Russian nuclear reactors with EU funds

Ukraine has started serious discussions to purchase Bulgaria’s two Russian-made nuclear reactors with EU money so it can better deal with future power shortages, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid his first visit to Bulgaria Thursday.

The two reactors purchased from Russia over five years ago were meant to be used for the Belene nuclear power plant project, which has now been abandoned due to Russia no longer participating in the assembly of the reactors and Bulgaria not being able to foot the bill alone.

“We have started serious talks about using the reactors from Belene in one of the plants in Ukraine. This is only the beginning of the negotiations, as many technical, financial and economic parameters need to be discussed,” Denkov said after meeting the Ukrainian delegation.

The go-ahead for the negotiations was given earlier on Thursday, as a majority of Bulgarian lawmakers decided to give the government 30 days to negotiate the sale of the nuclear reactors with Kyiv for €600 million – the price Bulgarian state-owned National Electric Company paid Russia’s Atomstroyexport for two reactors, the steam generators and the rest of the equipment.

Only 57 deputies of pro-Russian parties Vazrazhdane and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) opposed the move. “There is no way I can stand among fellow MPs participating in a funeral ceremony, ruining the future of the Bulgarian energy industry”, said BSP MP Rumen Gechev.

Zelenskyy, for his part, did not comment on the possible deal with Bulgaria, stating, however, that talks with Denkov focused on energy market security and protection against price crises.

To make the purchase easier for Ukraine, the EU Commission announced on Thursday that the potential deal could be financed with money the EU is already sending to Kyiv.

“Ukraine can use EU funds to buy nuclear reactors from Bulgaria, as this would help strengthen the Ukrainian economy”, a spokesperson for the Commission announced. This year, the EU is providing Ukraine with financial assistance worth €1.5 billion per month.

“There is no obstacle for Ukraine to use part of the money for cooperation with Bulgaria in the field of nuclear energy,” the spokesperson added.

(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)