Greenpeace Ukraine’s position on the completion of the Khmelnytsky NPP 

On 11 February 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a dangerous decision to purchase Russian equipment to complete two additional reactors at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP). Greenpeace Ukraine believes that this is contrary to Ukraine’s sustainable development and its movement towards the European Union, and therefore does not support this decision. Greenpeace Ukraine calls on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto this law. 

Greenpeace Ukraine’s position on the development of nuclear energy in Ukraine: 

• The use of Russian-made reactors threatens national security and violates the principles of independence from the aggressor state;
• Nuclear energy is an expensive and long solution and Ukraine needs electricity now. International experience shows that  in most cases reactor construction targets is delayed for many years.  
• In 2006, it was estimated that the completion of two Russian reactors would cost Bulgaria 3 billion euros. Ten years later, the estimated cost of the project reached 10 billion, and the construction time was ten years.  Due to economic inexpediency, the Bulgarian government abandoned the idea of completing the reactors in 2012. As for Ukraine, it is currently impossible to estimate the cost of construction without developing a feasibility study, as well as to determine the feasibility of the project;
• The quality of the equipment that Ukraine plans to purchase for the completion of the KhNPP is questionable, some of the equipment has been in storage in Bulgaria for more than 12 years under Russian control and maintenance. There are many questions about its completeness and compliance with modern quality standards;
• The Verkhovna Rada did not pass the bill on the completion of KhNPP, but decided in advance to allocate funds for new equipment for the power plant. At the same time, there is no understanding who will pay for the equipment. There is a risk that the financial burden of the costs will fall on the shoulders of Ukrainians, who will pay the state for outdated Russian equipment out of their own pockets in the midst of the war. 
• The procedure for submitting and adopting the draft law on purchases of Russian reactors contradicts the norms of the current legislation of Ukraine;
• Ukraine already has a negative experience with nuclear energy. The consequences of the Chornobyl tragedy are still felt today; and the fate of the occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP, the largest in Europe, is still unpredictable. The creation of new nuclear facilities is a new risk and a vulnerable target for the occupiers.
• The Russian war has shown that centralized power grids are vulnerable to Russian attacks. At the same time, decentralized ones are more secure due to their autonomy. The construction of Russian reactors in Ukraine will limit our country’s potential to achieve energy security.
• Renewable energy sources (RES) are the best strategic solution for the development of the Ukrainian energy sector. The decentralised energy system has proven to be resilient and invulnerable to hostile attacks. Moreover, developing renewable energy sources is a much faster and cheaper solution than investing in outdated Russian equipment. 

We call on the President of Ukraine to veto the law on the purchase of Russian equipment from Bulgaria and on the Government of Ukraine to abandon the construction of new nuclear reactors and shift its focus to wind and solar energy.