Western Nations Urged to Build Backup Support for Russian-Designed VVER Reactors

The article argues that the war in Ukraine and successive Ukrainian drone strikes are straining the Russian industrial base that supplies Rosatom's maintenance services for Soviet-designed VVER reactors worldwide. Although Rosatom retains considerable expertise and access to non-sanctioned suppliers, the cumulative effect of sanctions, frozen payments and loss of skilled personnel could lead to longer lead times, higher costs and fewer specialists for the 44 foreign reactors and 22 under-construction units.

A recent strike on a Rosatom vessel in the Black Sea illustrates the growing exposure of its supply chain. Because nuclear components require extensive certification, any delay can force a forced outage, as seen at Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant, which provides a third of the country's power. The authors recommend that the West, led by the Czech Republic's ŠKODA JS and Ukrainian engineers, develop a parallel maintenance capability, including component mapping, reserve stockpiles, joint financing for testing and regulatory cooperation. Such a system would act as an insurance policy, ensuring that countries operating Russian-design reactors are not forced into unsafe operation, power loss or political dependence on Moscow.