Ukraine currently operates four nuclear power plants (NPPs), at Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, Konstyantynivka, and Zaporizhzhya. The last operating reactors at the Chornobyl NPP were shut down in December 2000. Overall, these NPPs constitute a significant source of energy for Ukraine: given an uninterrupted fuel supply, they are capable of satisfying nearly half of Ukraine's energy needs. The government of Ukraine is interested in further expanding its nuclear power generating capacity, and has been seeking funding for the construction of new reactors.

In addition to the power reactors, Ukraine also has four nuclear research institutes, two of which (the Kiev Institute for Nuclear Research and the Sevastopol Institute of Nuclear Energy and Industry) operate research reactors and/or critical assemblies. A third institute (the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology) has weapons-grade materials stored on its premises. The fourth institute (the Chornobyl Center on Problems of Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste, and Radioecology) is dedicated solely to addressing the aftermath of the Chornobyl NPP explosion.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.

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