Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: US warns Russia not to touch US nuclear technology at Ukraine nuclear plant

CNN
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The United States has sensitive nuclear technology at nuclear power plant inside Ukraine and warned Russia not to touch the country, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom last month.

In a letter reviewed by CNN and dated March 17, 2023, the director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Non-Proliferation Policy, Andrea Ferkile, told Rosatom’s director general that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant at Enerhodar “contains nuclear engineering equipment of US origin. U.S. Government export-controlled data.”

Goods, software, and technology subject to U.S. export controls when they can be used in a way that undermines U.S. national security interests.

The letter from the Energy Ministry comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is located in part of the Zaporizhzhia region that Russia occupied after the invasion. Ukraine in February last year. The plant is regularly disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to intense Russian shelling in the area, sparking fears across Europe of a nuclear accident.

While the plant is still operated by Ukrainian employees, Rosatom manages it. The Department of Energy warned Rosatom in the letter that it is “illegal” for any Russian citizen or organization to handle US technology.

CNN has reached out to Rosatom for comment.

Satellite image shows changes Russia is making to occupied nuclear plant

“Under U.S. law, it is illegal for unauthorized persons, including but not limited to Russian citizens and Russian entities, to operate,” the letter reads, “such as Rosatom and its companies.” its children, knowingly and knowingly access, possess, control, export, store, seize, review, re-export, transport, transfer, copy, manipulate technology or data technology, or direct or authorize others to do the same, without those Russian entities becoming authorized recipients of the United States Secretary of Energy.”

It is unclear whether Rosatom has responded to the letter. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration told CNN in a statement that the letter was authentic.

The letters were first reported by the RBC Ukraine news agency.

“The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration can confirm that the letter is valid,” said Shayela Hassan, deputy director for public affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. France.

She added: “The Secretary of Energy has a statutory responsibility to authorize the transfer of unclassified civilian nuclear technology and to support foreign atomic energy activities. The DOE does not comment on regulatory activities.”

Another letter from Ferkile to the Department of Energy’s Inspector General, reviewed by CNN and dated October 24, 2022, outlines technology the United States has exported to Ukraine for use in the Zaporizhzhia plant and reminds states that the department “has no record of any current authorization for the transfer of this technology and technical data to any Russian country or entity”.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has been public about U.S. support for the plant and stated on its website in June 2021 that “the United States helped implement the procedures and new maintenance activities at the reactor that will ultimately increase energy security” in Ukraine.

EDIT: An earlier version of this story misattributed to the news agency that first reported the letters. It’s the Ukrainian RBC.