Ukraine to expand Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant as Shmyhal unveils energy sector overhaul

Shmyhal stressed that nuclear power remains the backbone of Ukraine’s energy system and must be expanded.

“Wherever it is currently possible to act quickly and build nuclear units on the basis of already developed projects, this must be done. Khmelnytskyi NPP is the closest to launching new nuclear construction. So my position is clear — we must move forward and build as fast as possible,” Shmyhal said.

He also backed the corporatization of PJSC Centrenergo with a view toward its future privatization.

In 2023, it was reported that Ukraine planned to purchase two Russian-made nuclear reactors from Bulgaria for Khmelnytskyi NPP. Installing the two units was expected to add nearly 2,200 MW to Ukraine’s power grid.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the relevant draft law in April 2024.

At the time, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said the third unit at Khmelnytskyi NPP could be completed within three years, noting that the project would be financed with credit funds.

Lawmakers attempted several times to bring the bill on completing Units No. 3 and No. 4 at Khmelnytskyi NPP to a vote, but it was repeatedly removed from the parliamentary agenda.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly endorsed the plant’s completion on Feb. 5, 2025, and the Verkhovna Rada later passed the law.

On March 13, 2025, Zelenskyy signed Bill No. 11392 authorizing the purchase of equipment necessary to complete construction of the two reactors at Khmelnytskyi NPP.

However, in April, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov said Bulgaria would not sell Ukraine the two VVER-1000 reactor vessels that had been under negotiation.