The US is concerned about reports that Russia is supplying enriched uranium to China. Its fission product can be used to build atomic bombs.
According to the US Department of Defense, Russia is to deliver highly enriched uranium to China. It is to be addressed to so-called “fast breeder reactors” in China. Fission in these reactors produces plutonium, which can also be used in nuclear weapons.
The processing is apparently taking place via the state-owned Russian company Rosatom. “It is very disturbing to see Russia and China working together in this area,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John F. Plumb. According to the Ministry of Defense, the information is based on reports from publicly available sources.
China could also give good reasons for civilian use. But that doesn’t convince the defense spokesman. “Plutonium is for guns,” he said, “so I think the Department of Defense is concerned.” The reports would also increase concerns about an increase in China’s nuclear force. You need more plutonium for more guns,” Plumb said.
Danger from more long-range missiles
According to the Pentagon official, China and Russia have placed nuclear weapons, space warfare and long-range attacks at the heart of their strategies. The US sees a growing number of long-range missiles in China, which pose a threat from an ever-increasing distance, Plumb told a House committee.
The China expert Ralph Wobel from the East Asia Center at the Zwickau University of Applied Sciences sees a change in the Russian-Chinese relationship in an interview with the Bild newspaper. “One thing is certain: China has become a step less neutral in the Ukraine conflict, but is increasing its cooperation with Russia – now also in a military-strategic area,” he said.
Rosatom involved in the operation of many reactors
Russia is one of the world’s largest suppliers of uranium. “Russia, through its mammoth state nuclear company, Rosatom, dominates the global nuclear supply chain,” wrote the New York Times a few days ago. 18 European reactors came from the Russian nuclear forge, and Rosatom is often involved in the operation. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia was placed under the supervision of the state-owned company.
So far, the Russian nuclear industry has been exempt from sanctions related to the Ukraine war. The member states were also unable to agree on measures in the latest EU sanctions package. Hungary in particular is obviously blocking: Rosatom is building two new reactor blocks for the Hungarian nuclear power plant in Paks.
The UK has only imposed sanctions on high-ranking managers at the Russian state nuclear power company Rosatom, two of the largest defense contractors and four banks.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda is therefore insisting on even more far-reaching measures even after the tenth package of EU sanctions against Russia. In particular, he wants to campaign for punitive measures against the Russian state-owned company Rosatom and the Russian nuclear industry. “We have always emphasized that what Russia is doing in the nuclear field – destabilizing and posing a very concrete threat to nuclear facilities in Ukraine – cannot go without consequences.”
