Bulgaria did not officially refuse to sell reactors for Khmelnytskyi NPP

Khmelnytsky NPP. Illustrative photo: uatom.org

Ukraine has not received any official refusal from Bulgaria to sell two nuclear power units for the Khmelnytskyi NPP. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that negotiations are ongoing.

He said this during an hour of questions to the government in the Verkhovna Rada.

According to him, the issue remains open, and negotiations with the Bulgarian side have now intensified. Ukraine is also supported by the IAEA in this process.

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The minister explained that the slowdown in negotiations is partly due to political instability in Bulgaria, in particular due to Russia's influence.

«In fact, the issue is not closed, we have no official refusal from Bulgaria to continue negotiations. The negotiation process has now intensified,» the minister said.

He also emphasised that the completion of the Khmelnytskyi NPP is critically important for Ukraine. In the context of the global energy transition, nuclear power is once again gaining importance in the world.

«You can see what decisions are being made in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Today, even Germany is discussing a return to nuclear power. This is an irreversible process, there will be no «green» transition without the atom,» emphasised Herman Halushchenko.

It should be noted that on 15 April, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Bulgarian Socialist Party Atanas Zafirov said that Bulgaria would not sell equipment from the Belene NPP, which was planned to be used to complete the Khmelnytskyi NPP, to Ukraine.

According to him, the decision was supported by all parties in the government. The Deputy Prime Minister explained that Bulgaria needs to develop nuclear energy, especially given the rise in electricity prices globally.

Afterwards, the Ministry of Energy stated that it had not received an official position from the Bulgarian government on the refusal to sell nuclear reactors to Ukraine.

Completion of the Khmelnytskyi NPP

Construction of two more units at the nuclear power plant has started in Khmelnytsky region. The first cube of concrete has already been laid for Unit 5.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has issued a decree«on organisational measures for the construction of Khmelnytskyi NPP units». According to the document, the estimated completion date for the construction and launch of two power units at Khmelnytskyi NPP is 2030-2032, although the timing may be affected by the course of military operations.

On 11 February, the Ukrainian parliament approved the purchase of two Russian nuclear reactors for the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant. The decision was supported by 261 MPs.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill that allows the purchase of the necessary equipment to complete two power units of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant.

The Russian-made reactors are to be purchased from Bulgaria and will be used to complete units 3 and 4 of the plant.

Although the text of the law does not specify the exact amount of the contract, according to «Ekonomichna Pravda», the deal could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Bulgarian parliament had previously authorised negotiations on the sale of equipment for at least €600 million.

Earlier, experts noted that Khmelnytskyi NPP should be completed, but in their opinion, after the war.