Brief description of the situation: In 1962, the adventurous actions of the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, N.S. Hrushchev, nearly led the world into a nuclear war, resulting in the so-called "Cuban Missile Crisis".
Hrushchev was driven by the insane idea of achieving communism worldwide.
His predecessors Lenin and Stalin shed a sea of blood for this cause, and a fitting finale could have been the destruction of humanity...
Today, a nuclear war is not needed to destroy humanity...
The President of Ukraine has a simpler method, which he is successfully implementing. The total corruption led by his administration is unique in its scale, leading not only to massive impoverishment of one of Europe’s potentially richest countries but also poses a direct threat to the population of other countries, as the greatest theft thrives where not only stealing but even thinking about theft is impossible.
We mean nuclear energy...
Every day, 50 million hryvnias are stolen from "Energoatom", divided by the presidential team. Instead of these funds being used for the development and safety of the nuclear sector, they are shamelessly stolen, and this is done under the guidance of President of NAK "Energoatom" Nedashkovskyi and the well-known inside and outside Ukraine participant in corruption scandals, Mykola Martynenko (nicknamed "Martin"). All attempts to uncover these criminal activities are suppressed at the highest levels.
Gordiyenko, who during a financial audit merely uncovered the tip of the "Energoatom iceberg," pointing out massive theft in the sector, was immediately dismissed.
The wear and tear on equipment at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants is alarming.
Given the current state of affairs, a catastrophe could occur that would make the Chornobyl disaster seem like a minor incident.
And most importantly: the situation with "rocking" and destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. All this is done with money stolen from "Energoatom"... Using Ukrainians’ money, another Maidan is being initiated! The team of Yatsenyuk, Martynenko, and Zhvanya decided to change the government in Ukraine once again. And is someone imagining themselves as the new President of the country?
It’s time for NAK "Energoatom" to finally start working for the Ukrainian people... And take responsibility for nuclear safety in the country and throughout Europe!
Is it not possible to appoint professional nuclear scientists to manage this structure and bring it out of the crisis, instead of allocating imposed 47 billion (!) hryvnias to Martynenko’s companies?
Isn’t it time to seriously consider this and call for the help of the international community?
What should be done with the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) of nuclear reactors? Unfortunately, the problem of its storage and disposal has not been fully resolved even at the level of global science today. Nevertheless, the state enterprise "NAEK "Energoatom" is seeking interim solutions within its capabilities. This includes, in particular, the construction of a Centralized Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (CSSNF). But how to finance its construction if the funds for this are not included in the enterprise’s tariff for electricity production?
Currently, the most likely path is the issuance of securities, decided in NAEK. The company hopes to place them on the US stock market with the help of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. NAEK recently announced the start of the corresponding negotiating procedure and cooperation with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in arranging an insurance policy and preparing documentation for bond issuance. The expected cost of the contract with Bank of America Merrill Lynch is $1.5 million.
Recall that at the end of 2015, the president of NAEK "Energoatom", Yuriy Nedashkovskyi, announced plans to attract about $250 million from Bank of America Merrill Lynch for the construction of the CSSNF. According to him, the talk is about a 25-year loan at less than 7% per annum. The construction of this centralized storage will allow NAEK to significantly reduce costs related to the circulation of spent nuclear fuel, which is currently mostly sent to Russia for temporary storage. (SNF from six VVER-1000 reactors at the Zaporizhzhya NPP is not sent to Russia and is stored in an on-site dry-type storage facility, commissioned in 2001).
The feasibility study developed by Kyiv’s "Energoproject" envisages a project capacity of the CSSNF for 16,530 spent fuel assemblies, including 12,010 from VVER-1000 blocks and 4,520 from VVER-440. The initial complex capacity is 3,620 assemblies, including 2,510 from VVER-1000. Its construction was planned to be completed with construction, commencement of technology and equipment delivery by Holtec, and the facility’s commissioning in 2015-2017. By the end of 2020, Holtec will supply 94 SNF storage systems, and their further production will be carried out in Ukraine. Thus, Ukraine will eliminate its dependence on Russia in another crucial and costly area.
Unfortunately, the problem of SNF storage in the Ukrainian nuclear complex is far from being the only one. Recently, readers of "Den" were outraged that "Energoatom’s" bank accounts were unlawfully closed, making it impossible to timely start up energy blocks undergoing scheduled maintenance, as well as to address various minor issues, which unfortunately are unavoidable in the operation of any large power stations.
It seems that the financial blockade of NAEK, which created a real threat of repeating the Chornobyl tragedy, cannot be considered among unforeseen coincidences. To verify this, it was enough to attend the press conference dedicated to the situation in Ukraine’s nuclear energy. Nominally it was conducted by former Ukrainian Deputy Energy Ministers – former general director (1987-1992) of the Chornobyl NPP, Mykhailo Umanyets and specialist in scientific support of nuclear energy activities Anatoliy Chernov. However, it seemed there were also political figures behind them, previously announced as speakers for this conference, but rather prudently did not attend, the people’s deputies Andriy Derkach and Andriy Artemenko.
It is necessary to note that some of what was said by those who are retired, yet undoubtedly significant specialists in the field, indeed took place. This includes, first of all, a series of minor incidents at Ukrainian NPPs, and the fact that for not the first day there is a vacant position of the chief inspector for nuclear and radiation safety in the state supervisory body in Ukraine.
This is undoubtedly reasonable. However, neither Umanyets nor Chernov mentioned the damage caused to the industry by the financial blockade carried out at the peak of repair works in preparation for the 2016-2017 heating season. They are likely uninterested in whose hands are behind this. Don’t they already know? In the analysis by Umanyets and Chernov, all the industry’s problems were recognized as resulting from the unprofessional actions of the leadership of the Ministry of Energy and NAEK "Energoatom".
"The state of Ukraine’s nuclear energy is such that we are facing not a nuclear catastrophe, as the yellow press frightens, but an economic catastrophe," noted Umanyets. "Of the 15 nuclear blocks, which today bear 55% of the load from the production of electricity in Ukraine, half are waiting to be shut down. In four years, the service life of seven reactors will expire. This term needs to be extended, but it costs $300 million per each. So urgently, $2.1 billion is needed."
Let us remember this number. When it came time to lay down a positive program capable of solving all nuclear problems — from SNF storage to the extension of nuclear blocks’ service life, — it seems that these $2.1 billion, like a hypnotist, inclined the authoritative specialist Umanyets not to scientific, technical, and engineering solutions, but to purely administrative and clearly suggested by someone from the side proposals.
"There is absolutely nowhere to get such money," Umanets convinced, "And if we don’t extend the service life of nuclear blocks, then by 2020 we will lose 50%, and by 2030 Ukraine’s nuclear energy will cease to exist. But even if we do extend the terms, but do not start to plan on replacing the blocks, we will again face a collapse of both nuclear and electricity sectors in general. And today, Ukraine’s nuclear energy guarantees the country’s all-round security — economic and social." "Further — slavery," Umanyets warns precisely in the style of the yellow press.
Together with colleague Anatoliy Chernov, as well as people’s deputies Andriy Derkach and Andriy Artemenko, he appealed with a letter to the Director General of the IAEA. "To maintain the level of electricity generation for the next 4 years, it is necessary to complete such work on 7 more power units, conduct repairs and replace components. The cost of extension per unit averages $300 million (in total, this will yield the aforementioned $2.1 billion)."
However, funds for the implementation of such a program are not included in the country’s budget, nor in the budget of NAEK "Energoatom", note the authors of the letter. Meanwhile, they assert that a program for the development of nuclear energy has already been developed in Ukraine and is ready for implementation. It only needs to be adopted at the legislative level. "Where can one get acquainted with this document?" "Den" asked. Amazingly, Chernov believes that this will only be possible after it has been adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.
From what was said at the press conference, it could only be understood that the authors of the program insist on the creation of a new structure called "Ukratom" to manage all enterprises in the nuclear sector, including "Energoatom". Moreover, Umanyets is somehow convinced that it should be managed by and only can be led by some Stanislav Dyaminov: it is allegedly he who "somehow got these funds ($2.1 billion? — Author) somehow provided". "Perhaps someone has other proposals — let them voice them. But I only know this one," insists on his quite dubious candidacy Umanets.
Here is what the trade union of "Energoatom" reported on the "Antikor" website: "Constant searches by the SBU, interrogations of employees, humiliation of the company’s workers, and much more. As it became known, all these actions were well-paid and organized by the globally renowned fraudster and swindler Stanislav Dyaminov, who, considering himself irreplaceable in the nuclear energy sector, decided to capture the company by raider means. The new Russian in a crimson jacket arrived in Ukraine disguised as a benefactor."
"Dyaminov was sent to Ukraine by the Russian special services, namely the FSB," the authors write, "to conduct a special operation for destabilizing ’Energoatom’, with its subsequent raider capture." "But President Poroshenko," continue the trade union activists, "managed to get to the bottom of this situation. At the stage of recommending the appointment of Dyaminov S. as head of NAEK ’Energoatom’, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine halted this personnel decision." And now Dyaminov is again on everyone’s lips. It turns out as in the saying: not by washing, then by rolling.
Vitaliy KNYAZHANSKYI, "Den"