The United States has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine, and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state-run nuclear power company Rosatom last month.
In a letter, reviewed by CNN and dated March 17, 2023, the director of the Ministry of Energy’s Office of Defense Policy, Andrea Ferkile, tells the director general of Rosatom that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine “contains US nuclear technical data controlled by the United States Government.”
Goods, software and technology are subject to US export controls if they are likely to be used in a manner that undermines US national security interests.
The Energy Department letter comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and sits in part of the Zaporizhzhia region that Russia seized after its invasion of Ukraine last February. The facility is often disconnected from Ukraine’s electricity grid due to heavy Russian bombings in the area, raising fears across Europe of a nuclear threat.
While the plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian workers, Rosatom manages it. The Ministry of Energy warned Rosatom in a letter that it is “impermissible” for any Russian citizens or organizations to manage US technology.
CNN has contacted Rosatom for comment.
It is not clear whether Rosatom has responded to the letter. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration told CNN in a statement that the letter is authentic.
The letters were first reported by the news agency RBC Ukraine.
“The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration can confirm that this letter is legitimate,” said Shayela Hassan, deputy director of public affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
He added, “The Secretary of Energy has legal responsibility for approving the transfer of illegal nuclear technology and assistance to foreign atomic energy projects. DOE does not comment on regulatory activities.”
Another letter from Ferkile to the Inspector General of the Department of Energy, reviewed by CNN and dated October 24, 2022, describes the technology the US has sent to Ukraine for use at the Zaporizhzhia plant and reiterates that the department “has no record of any current authorization to transfer this technology and technical data to any Russian nation or organization.”
The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has been public about US support for the facility, and stated on its website in June 2021 that “the United States helped implement new maintenance and operating procedures at the facility that should ultimately strengthen energy security” in Ukraine.
Fix: This post misstated the newspaper that first reported the letters. It was RBC Ukraine.
