The government draft bill №11146, registered in April 2024, concerns the placement, design, and construction of Units №3 and №4 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant. It has been repeatedly scheduled for a vote but was later removed from the agenda. In July, the Verkhovna Rada’s anti-corruption office identified corruption risks in the draft law.
The EU delegation head underscored that EU institutions were not involved in preparing this legislative initiative.
“We were not part of this law’s preparation," she said.
"But this decision is entirely within the competence of the Ukrainian authorities — whether Ukraine will build a nuclear power plant or not.”
“The European Union does not fund the construction of nuclear power plants, partly because EU member states hold varying positions on nuclear energy,” Mathernova added.
At the same time, she emphasized that the EU has other expectations regarding Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear company. She stressed that Ukraine voluntarily committed to aligning Energoatom’s supervisory board with OECD standards, which requires establishing an independent supervisory board for the state company.
“I want to emphasize that we are very interested in forming Energoatom’s supervisory board," the ambassador said.
"Last week, we in the G7 sent a letter to the Prime Minister about this.”
“The board members were appointed in June, and it is time to finalize the process, sign the contracts, and launch the supervisory board. Its opinion will be an important factor in decisions regarding the financing of various projects,” she added.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko previously said it was tangible to complete the third power unit of the Khmelnytskyi NPP within three years, noting that the project will rely on credit funding.
Ukrainian MP and energy committee member Inna Sovsun called the proposal to complete the Khmelnytskyi NPP units inadequate.
“The only cost assessment for this project is a feasibility study approved by the government back in 2018, meaning six years ago," she said.
"At that time, the project was estimated at 76.8 billion UAH, or over $2.8 billion. Everything has changed since then, yet no one in the government or Energoatom publicly provides updated figures.”
Director of the Energy Research Center, Oleksandr Kharchenko, claimed that the funds allocated for the project would be “buried without prospects.”
Mykola Shteinberg, the Chornobyl NPP's former chief engineer, ex-head of the State Committee for Nuclear Safety, and former Deputy Energy Minister, described the current efforts to revive construction as “more talk and self-promotion.”
Lana Zerkal, former advisor to the Energy Minister and an experienced diplomat, called the idea of completing the units a “fairy tale.”