The Ukrainian Parliament on Tuesday passed a contentious bill allowing the government to purchase two unused, Russian-made nuclear reactors from Bulgaria for at least $600 million — a project that has faced sharp criticism over its high cost and yearslong timeline.
The Ukrainian government plans to install the two reactors at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine, arguing they will help reinforce a grid crippled by relentless Russian attacks. Bulgaria bought them more than a decade ago from Russia’s state-owned nuclear giant, Rosatom, but they never went into operation.
Energy experts and anti-corruption activists say the reactors will take years to install and that the funds would be better spent on weapon procurement or on immediate solutions to strengthen Ukraine’s energy resilience, such as installing small gas turbines across the country.
There are also concerns that the project could serve as a front for money laundering, given the history of corruption cases tied to Ukraine’s energy ministry and Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear company overseeing the purchase. Several top officials and employees have been arrested in recent months and charged with taking bribes.
The purchase of the reactors has drawn significant attention in Kyiv’s diplomatic and political circles in recent months, as it touches on some of the most pressing challenges facing the war-torn nation today and in the near future: rebuilding its energy infrastructure, determining where best to allocate limited financial resources and combating entrenched corruption.
“It’s going to be a test,” Inna Sovsun, an opposition lawmaker who sits on Parliament’s energy committee, said in a phone interview. She was one of 39 lawmakers to vote against the purchase, while 261 voted in favor.
