Ukraine's parliament approves purchase of reactors for Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant

"The government has launched the 'Great Atomic Theft' to spend $1 billion on a Russian reactor. Now tens of billions from raising tariffs for you and the entire population will go somewhere to Bulgaria to buy Russian reactors," the lawmaker said.

The decision was supported by 261 votes, with the Batkivshchyna party providing crucial votes.

"This money could have been sent to the army, but [Timur] Mindich and [German] Halushchenko decided otherwise. P.S. What's good (if I may say so in this situation) is that they only authorized the purchase, not the start of construction. Therefore, not all 300 billion hryvnias ($7.2 billion) will be stolen, but a little less. You could say patrons," the MP stated.

The voting breakdown by faction was as follows:

• Servant of the People: 190
• European Solidarity: 0
• Batkivshchyna: 15
• Platform for Life and Peace: 16
• For the Future: 9
• Golos: 0
• Dovira: 14
• Revival of Ukraine: 12
• Non-affiliated: 5

The Khmelnytskyi NPP is located in western Ukraine on the border of three oblasts: Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and Ternopil. Its construction began in 1981 and it currently has two reactors. The first was launched in 1987 and the second in 2004. Both power units have VVER-1000 reactors with a total capacity of 2000 MW. 

According to the project, the plant was supposed to be a four-unit power plant, but the third and fourth power units were only partially built. Energoatom wants to complete the construction of two VVER-1000 power units and build two more powerful power units using the American AP1000 technology, which will be able to produce up to 1200 MW. If these plans are realized, the total capacity of Khmelnytskyi NPP will exceed 6,000 MW, making it the largest in Europe.

In July 2023, Bulgaria's parliament authorized negotiations with Ukraine's energy minister regarding the sale of equipment intended for the Belene NPP, a project Bulgaria abandoned in 2012. A memorandum of understanding was signed during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Bulgaria.

In 2024, the European Commission acknowledged that the potential deal for Russian reactors could be financed with EU funds allocated for Ukraine's support. However, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová stated that the EU would not fund the completion of KhNPP's power units due to a lack of consultations with the bloc.

Energy Minister German Halushchenko estimated that the third power unit at KhNPP could be completed within three years using credit funds. 

However, critics, including MP Inna Sovsun and energy expert Oleksandr Kharchenko, have questioned the feasibility and necessity of the project.

Mykola Steinberg, former chief engineer of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the accident, former chairman of the State Committee on Nuclear Safety and deputy energy minister, said that current attempts to resume construction of the power units are mostly gibberish and self-promotion.

Lana Zerkal, former advisor to the energy minister, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, called the idea of completing the reactors a "fairy tale." 

The bill on the completion of KhNPP units 3 and 4 was tried several times to be put to a vote, but was later removed from the agenda. In July, the Verkhovna Rada's anti-corruption department identified corruption risks in the document.

On Feb. 4, 2025, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi supported Ukraine's strategy to complete the nuclear units at Khmelnytskyi NPP.

On Feb. 5, Zelenskyy publicly supported Ukraine's most scandalous construction project.