Ukraine’s Energoatom and U.S. Westinghouse Electric Company has signed an agreement to increase fuel deliveries to Ukrainian nuclear power plants through 2020, said Yves Brachet, Westinghouse president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, in a statement.
"This increased cooperation between Westinghouse and Energoatom will bring diversification and security of nuclear fuel supplies for Ukraine's reactor fleet," he added.
Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement in response, saying that the use of the U.S. nuclear fuel could result in a serious accident. According to it, fuel assemblies manufactured by Westinghouse have repeatedly demonstrated non-compliance to the quality of fuel for VVER-1000 reactor (water-water energetic reactor). Thus, the fuel sourced from Westinghouse had dangerously malfunctioned at the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic.
The ministry added that Kiev had no reason to worry about the reliability of its Russian nuclear fuel supply as Rosatom conducts regular and uninterrupted fuel supplies to Ukrainian nuclear power stations.
"This dangerous experiment attempted by Kiev puts in danger the safety and health of Ukrainian citizens and peoples of Europe," the ministry said.
"It seems that the lessons of the Chernobyl tragedy have not taught the Kiev authorities to follow a responsible and scientifically-sound approach to the use of nuclear energy," the statement said.
