The EU has dramatically increased imports of enriched uranium from Russia. What does this mean?

The European Union has dramatically increased purchases of Russian enriched uranium: in the first four months of 2026, imports increased almost eightfold and reached €163.5 million. Despite the policy of reducing energy dependence on Moscow, the European nuclear industry remains closely linked to Russian technologies and fuel supplies. Why the EU cannot refuse supplies from Russia is in the Izvestia article.

Dependence on Russia

• The European Union has dramatically increased purchases of Russian enriched uranium. In the first four months of 2026, EU countries imported 163.5 million euros worth of these products, which is 7.9 times higher than in the same period last year. In April alone, shipments reached 89.8 million euros. Compared to March, the cost of imports increased 1.5 times. This result was the highest since November 2025. France remained the main buyer of Russian products, which acquired uranium for €141.2 million. Germany bought it for €13.8 million, and the Netherlands — for almost €8.6 million.

• The EU and other Western countries have been using Russian uranium enrichment facilities for many years. One of the reasons for the increase in purchases was the desire of energy companies to build up nuclear fuel reserves in advance in case of new geopolitical turbulence. Rosatom's position in the global market remains stable: the Russian state corporation controls about half of the global uranium enrichment capacity, and expanding the capabilities of competitors, including the British company Urenco and the French corporation Orano, requires significant investments and time.

• An additional factor remains water-to-water power reactors (VVER), which continue to operate in a number of Eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Such installations require special fuel assemblies related to the technologies and licenses of Rosatom structures. Also, Russian conversion and enrichment services are traditionally cheaper than their Western counterparts, which makes them profitable for nuclear power plant operators. At the same time, the European Union continues to look for ways to gradually reduce its dependence on Russian nuclear products.

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• Against the background of record EU purchases from Russia, the UK and Ukraine signed a two-year contract for the supply of enriched uranium worth 210 million pounds (about $280 million). The British company Urenco also announced the expansion of its uranium enrichment capacity in the United States by almost 50% to reduce the dependence of Western countries on Russian supplies. However, in the coming years, Urenco will not be able to cover the entire demand of European countries. In addition, the cost of Russian enriched uranium is significantly lower.

Erroneous refusal

• The European Union has recognized the erroneous policy of reducing the role of nuclear energy for the development of solar and wind farms. According to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the share of electricity from nuclear power plants in Europe has decreased from about one third in 1990 to less than 15% today. The EU now considers nuclear and renewable energy as complementary areas. This position was supported by French President Emmanuel Macron, who called nuclear energy an important element of energy independence and achieving climate goals.

• The transition from nuclear energy has been gradual over several decades. The situation was most affected by the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011, after which Germany began shutting down reactors. Later, similar decisions were made by Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. However, the expert community notes that, subject to all standards, nuclear power plants remain a reliable and safe source of energy.

• Small modular reactors (MMR) with a capacity of up to 300 MW have become one of the main directions of the new EU strategy. The European Commission expects to launch the first such projects in the early 2030s and is ready to allocate €200 million to support investments in innovative nuclear technologies. At the same time, the union intends to maintain existing large nuclear power plants and build new power units. By 2050, it will take about €241 billion to extend the service life of existing reactors and build new ones. At the same time, experts consider MMR to be an insufficiently proven technology, the effectiveness of which has yet to be confirmed in practice.

• Despite plans to develop the nuclear industry, Europe remains dependent on external supplies of fuel and Russian technologies. About 40% of uranium imports come from the CIS countries, including 15% from Russia, and in 2025, about half of the supplies of enriched uranium to the EU came from Russia. There is practically no own uranium mining in the European Union, so it will not be possible to quickly abandon Russian resources. Additional difficulties are created by Soviet reactors in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia, which require original Russian components for maintenance. In the next five years, the EU will focus on extending the operation of existing nuclear power plants, building new large units and gradually reducing dependence on Russia.

EU energy security

• For the European Union, dependence on Russian enriched uranium remains one of the most sensitive issues of energy security: about 100 nuclear reactors operate in 12 EU countries, providing about a quarter of all electricity generation. The European Commission has no plans to impose new restrictions on Russian nuclear fuel yet. Brussels believes that it is more difficult to abandon it than from Russian gas, since many European nuclear power plants depend on the supply of uranium and its enrichment services. Therefore, the EU postponed decisions on reducing this dependence to a later date.

• There are a limited number of companies operating in the world that have the necessary technologies and production facilities. The construction of new enterprises requires large investments and takes years. Even after the appearance of a new supplier, nuclear power plants must conduct fuel tests and obtain regulatory approvals. Therefore, a complete switch to alternative sources requires time and additional costs.

• For the EU, this means continued dependence on external supplies in one of the key energy sectors. While European companies are expanding their own capacities and looking for new partners, Russian enriched uranium continues to play an important role in the operation of many nuclear power plants.

What does this mean?

• The increase in purchases of Russian enriched uranium shows that the European Union cannot yet quickly abandon cooperation with Russia in the nuclear field. Despite the desire to reduce dependence on Russian resources, European nuclear power plants still need Russian fuel and technologies. This means that in the coming years, Russia will retain an important role in ensuring the operation of the EU's nuclear energy industry, and the search for alternatives will take time and large expenditures.

When writing the material, Izvestia took into account the opinions of:

• political scientist Alexander Perendzhiev;
• Alexey Anpilogov, an expert in the field of nuclear energy.

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