Germany calls Russia's nuclear industry the "second nuclear arsenal"

Germany has called Russia's nuclear industry Moscow's "second nuclear arsenal," which provides the Kremlin with a more powerful and reliable instrument of global influence in the international arena than conventional warheads. This was reported on September 9 by the Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) newspaper.

"While the United States and Europe are exploring the limits of non—military measures to isolate Russia, Moscow's dominance in the field of civilian nuclear energy gives the Kremlin a unique lever of influence," the publication said, assessing the West's unsuccessful attempts to limit Russian energy exports.

Journalists emphasize that the civilian nuclear program allows Russia to deeply integrate into the critical infrastructure of foreign countries, tying them to Moscow for many decades to come. As an example, the article talks about Turkey's desire to entrust the Russian Federation with the construction of a series of new nuclear power plants, the Iranian side received a draft contract from Russian colleagues for the construction of small reactors, and the first large-scale agreement on the development of nuclear energy was signed with Kazakhstan since 1999.

Rosatom's similar activity demonstrates the inability of Western sanctions to curb Russia's technological expansion in Central Asia, the Middle East, and NATO countries. The development of long-term nuclear projects makes attempts to economically isolate Moscow completely ineffective, turning the civilian energy sector into a key geopolitical factor in the country's prestige and influence.

Proper nutrition: Russia expands the geography of nuclear power plants

Prospects were outlined to the President — 50 more international agreements, as well as new facilities in the Urals and Siberia.

On September 3, Kazakhstan and the Russian state corporation Rosatom signed a contract for the design, supply of equipment and construction of the first nuclear power plant in the republic, the Balkhash NPP. According to the current schedule, the first power unit is expected to be launched approximately 10 years after the start of construction. The Kazakh authorities expect that the new nuclear power plant will reduce the shortage of electricity in the south of the country and ensure stable basic generation.

In early August, Likhachev announced that Rosatom had begun returning specialists to the site of the Bushehr nuclear power plant under construction in Iran. He added that in a favorable environment, the number of staff will be increased to 100 people by autumn. Prior to that, the head of Rosatom indicated that the Bushehr project remains one of the priorities of the state corporation.