Content:
  1. Twin donor. Why reactors are bought from Bulgaria
  2. Corruption risks and constitutional concerns: How the law was passed
  3. "Chornobyl’s contemporaries": What’s wrong with KhNPP’s completion?
  4. The price tag
  5. When will the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant be completed?

Following backing from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada authorized the state-owned NPP operator Energoatom to acquire two Russian-made nuclear reactors from Bulgaria for use in completing the third and fourth units of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP).

The decision came despite sharp criticism from experts, the public, and some lawmakers. Among the many objections: doubts about spending tens of billions of hryvnias on equipment for a project unlikely to materialize soon, if ever, amid war.

The Energy Ministry and Energoatom argue that buying two VVER-1000 reactors from Bulgaria—designed originally for KhNPP’s units—is the fastest way to finish construction. Ukraine faced a tight deadline to act, risking a shift in Sofia’s stance on selling the units.

If completed, the two KhNPP units could add 2 gigawatts of capacity—equivalent to Ukraine’s current maximum electricity imports, supporters say.

How quickly can the units be completed after the Rada’s vote? Must Russian technology be used? Why is the project criticized for corruption risks, and how much will it cost? LIGA.net investigates.

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BulgariaEnergoatomnuclear energyKhmelnytskyi NPPKhNPP