The export of uranium to Germany brings big profits to Putin’s Russia.Image: Keystone
Despite the war in Ukraine, imports of Russian uranium into Germany have increased drastically. Enough to raise a number of questions about the European Union’s sanctions policy.
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In 2024, Germany imported at least 68.6 tonnes of uranium from Russia, an increase of almost 70 percent compared to the previous year. This information emerges from data from the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment, whose Spiegel had knowledge. The material was delivered to the fuel element manufacturing plant of Advanced Nuclear Fuels (ANF) in Lingen.
You should know that the price of uranium fluctuated quite a bit last year. The transaction value for the tons in question could therefore be between $10.6 million (at a minimum price of $70 per pound) and $16 million (at a maximum price of $106 per pound).
Uranium from Russia is so far not part of EU sanctions. The German Federal Ministry of the Environment confirms these imports and states: “Currently, there is no EU embargo on the import or export of nuclear fuels for peaceful use in the against Russia.
Only the EU decides on sanctions against Russia and discussions on this subject continue.
“The Kremlin workbench”
ANF is a subsidiary of the French company Framatome. The increase in uranium imports from Russia is not unimportant, as ANF plans to create a joint venture with the Russian nuclear group Rosatom. In the future, fuel elements for Russian VVER-type reactors will be manufactured in Lingen, Germany.
For Julian Bothe, of the organization “Ausgestrahlt”, these uranium imports finance Putin’s war:
“This expansion project transforms Lingen into an extension of the Kremlin workshop”
Framatome, however, defends this cooperation by specifying that “five EU countries operate 19 VVER reactors”. The operators reportedly asked Framatome to manufacture the fuel rods.
Until last year, the United States also imported uranium from Russia. In reaction to American sanctions, the Kremlin, however, banned these exports in November 2024. The Russian public news agency Tass then wrote that Vladimir Putin was considering banning uranium exports to other countries that had imposed sanctions on Russia. However, no final decision has been made on this subject. (jah/t-online)
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