EU Sanctions Exclude Rosatom Despite €1.6 Billion Payments and Zaporizhzhia Occupation
The EU has excluded Russia's Rosatom from 20 sanctions packages, paying over €1.6 billion for uranium since February 2022. Rosatom operates the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and produces weapons, using EU funds and technology for its war. Calls are mounting for sanctions to end this financial and technological support.
Despite 20 rounds of EU sanctions targeting Russian sectors, Rosatom, Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation, remains largely untouched. Rosatom, which operates the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and houses 21 weapons-production entities, has received over €1.6 billion from the EU for uranium imports since February 2022: €280 million in 2022, €686 million in 2023, and over €700 million in 2024.
The EU's financial dependence on Rosatom for nuclear fuel and services allows Russia to access Western technologies and hard currency, which it uses to fund its war efforts. Rosatom's involvement in the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia plant, where IAEA missions have documented military equipment, and its acquisition of dual-use technology for Russian missile programs, highlight the critical gap in sanctions.
The occupation of Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear plant, has led to 14 power outages and a significant reduction in licensed operators. Russia also systematically targets energy infrastructure powering all four Ukrainian nuclear plants and damaged Chornobyl's New Safe Confinement on February 14, 2025. Experts advocate for phasing Rosatom out of European supply chains, treating nuclear plant energy infrastructure as a nuclear safety issue, and supporting decentralized energy in Ukraine. Public pressure is urged to push for Rosatom sanctions.