Ukraine to seek EU sanctions against russia’s Rosatom – Ukraine’s FM

Ukraine wants the European Union to include russia's Rosatom in the new sanctions package.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

The journalist asked about the European Union's eighth sanctions package.

The foreign minister replied that Ukraine would promote President Zelensky's view that Rosatom should be brought under sanctions.

Rosatom, also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, is a russian state corporation headquartered in Moscow that specializes in nuclear energy, nuclear non-energy goods, and high-tech products. The state corporation is one of the largest in the world's atomic energy industry.

According to Kuleba, it became relevant, especially after the events at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plan, which is currently occupied by the russian forces. 

The russian troops are stationed in the nuclear plant, using it as a military base and site from where they shell surrounding Ukrainian cities and villages. They also regularly shell the plant building and Enerhodar City, where the plant is located.

We will remind you that not only russian military personnel are illegally present at the plant but also Rosatom employees who carry out criminal activities.

"There is every reason to apply sanctions against them. And there are countries in the EU that are against it. We will work with them," the minister emphasized.

Kuleba believes that the European Union's new sanctions package can be introduced sooner than before the end of the year.

The foreign minister admitted that the appetite for new sanctions is fading among some EU countries, and each subsequent package will be more complex than the previous one.

But, according to him, "it is a living process; you have to work with them."

As Rubryka reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency recorded the presence of the Rosatom expert group during the visit to the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which, as the russian side of the mission stated, "provides advice on nuclear safety, security, and actions to the management of the ZNPP."

In conclusion to the report, the IAEA recommended withdrawing the russian military equipment and said, "The IAEA considers that the presence of Rosatom senior technical staff could lead to interference with the normal lines of operational command or authority and create potential frictions when it comes to decision-making."

Hungary demands guarantees from the EU that russian nuclear energy will not be subject to sanctions.

Also, ex-head of the State Inspection of Nuclear Regulation Hryhorii Plachkov believes that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on the mission to the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) can become the basis for imposing sanctions against Rosatom.

Read Rubryka's timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.