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The United States has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to the state nuclear power company of Russia Rosatom last month.
In the letter, which was reviewed by CNN and is dated March 17, 2023, the director of the Office of Nonproliferation Policy of the Department of Energy, Andrea Ferkile, tells the director general of Rosatom that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine “contains the origin of the United States. nuclear technical data that is exported controlled by the United States Government.”
Goods, software, and technology are subject to U.S. export controls when they are likely to be used in a manner that undermines U.S. national security interests.
The letter from the Department of Energy comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is located in a part of the Zaporizhzhia region that Russia occupied after its invasion of Ukraine last February. The plant has often been disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to intense Russian bombing in the area, raising fears across Europe of a nuclear accident.
While the plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian personnel, Rosatom manages it. The Department of Energy warned Rosatom in the letter that it is “illegal” for any Russian citizens or entities to deal with US technology.
CNN has contacted Rosatom for comment.
It is not clear whether Rosatom has responded to the letter. The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration told CNN in a statement that the letter is authentic.
The letters were first reported by RBC Ukraine news.
“The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration can confirm that the letter is legitimate,” said Shayela Hassan, the deputy director of public affairs for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
She added: “The Secretary of Energy has statutory responsibility for authorizing the transfer of unclassified civilian nuclear technology and assistance to foreign atomic energy activities. 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, outlines technology that the United States has exported to Ukraine for use in the Zaporizhzhia plant and reiterates that the department has “no record of any actual authorization to transfer this technology and technical data to any national or Russian entity”.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has been public about US support for the plant, and he stated on his website in June 2021 that “the United States has helped implement new maintenance and operations procedures at the reactor that will enhance energy security” in Ukraine.
Correction: This post incorrectly described the news paper that first reported the letters. It was RBC Ukraine.
