CANADA On 1 April 1994, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Andre Oullet announced
that Canada would grant Ukraine $15 million dollars to assist in nuclear
safety, disarmament, and environmental cleanup of military facilities.
In addition, the Canadian Atomic Energy Control Board together with the
Ukrainian State Committee for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (UkrSCNRS) would
develop new laws to regulate Ukraine's nuclear facilities. In June 1994,
Canada announced the breakdown of the aid package as follows: environmental
restoration of decommissioned ICBM sites ($2.5 million), nuclear waste
management ($3.25 million), radiation monitoring ($2.5 million), reactor
safety ($260,000), defense conversion ($1.4 million), regulatory cooperation
($720,000), and the International Science and Technology Center in Kiev
($2 million).
Sources: [1] Christopher Guly, "$15 Million Grant From Canada To Promote
Ukraine's Disarmament," The Ukrainian Weekly, Vol. 62, 4/17/94,
p. 3. [2] "Western Dismantlement and Related Assistance For Ukraine,"
Department of State Fact Sheet. [3] CISNP correspondence with official of the UkrSCNRS. [4] Spector and Potter, Nuclear Successor States of the
Soviet Union, 12/94, p. 28.
10/25/94: KUCHMA SEEKS CANADIAN HELP Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met with Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien in Ottawa to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
After they signed a friendship and cooperation pact, Kuchma asked Chretien
to help Ukraine secure the guarantees that the Supreme Rada requires prior
to NPT ratification. Canada is Ukraine's strongest Western ally and has
promised more than $45 million in aid.
["Ukraine Seeks Canada's Support on Nuclear Issues," Reuter,
10/24/94, in Executive News Service, 25 October 1994.]
FRANCE 12/11/2000: FRANCE, GERMANY SIGN MEMORANDUM WITH UKRAINE TO PROVIDE
SUPPORT TO CHORNOBYL CENTER Ukraine, Germany, and France signed a memorandum of support and
participation in Chornobyl Center activities concerning problems of nuclear
safety, radioactive waste, and the environment. For more information, see the
12/11/2000 entry in the
Chornobyl Center section. {Entered 2/19/01 RG}
2/13/97: ZAPORIZHZHYA TO RECEIVE FF 4.6 MILLION
FROM FRANCE France and Ukraine have signed a protocol on granting
the Zaporizhzhya
nuclear power plant FF 4.6 million ($800,000, according to the exchange
rate for 13 February 1997).[1] The grant is to be used for technical assistance
for safety improvements, including safety equipment, expert consultants,
and training in France for Ukrainian technicians. In this deal, the first
phase of a seven-phase program, the French government will transfer the
funding to the French company Sogelec, which will deliver the equipment
to Zaporizhzhya. In the second phase, Sogelec will deliver equipment worth
FF 8.4 billion ($1.5 billion, according to the exchange rate for 13 February
1997), which Zaporizhzhya will purchase.[2] These first two phases
will last two years.
[1] Izvestia Ukraina, 13 February
1997, p. 1; in "France Gives Grant Toward Zaporozhye N-Plant Safety Project,"
FBIS-SOV-97-031. [2] Eastern Economist, 24 February
1997, p. 16.{Entered 12/18/97 PBI}
GERMANY In August 1996, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister and Commander
of the 43rd Missile Army Colonel General Volodymyr Mykhtyuk signed an intergovernmental
Ukrainian-German protocol with German Ambassador to Ukraine Dr. Eberhard
Heiken, according to which Ukraine will destroy five ICBM silos by the
end of 1996 using DM 3.5 million allocated
by the German government. In 1994, Germany allocated DM 1.1 million
in equipment and services to jointly develop environmentally safe silo
destruction technologies and in 1995, Germany allocated DM 2 million for
the same purpose. From these efforts, Ukrainian and German specialists
developed the hydroabrasive cutting method which was first used to eliminate
a Ukrainian silo in December 1995. Subsequently, 17 more silos were destroyed
using this method. On 16 September 1998, Germany and Ukraine signed
an agreement extending German assistance through 2001. The new agreement
involves the scrapping of nine launch silos for SS-24 ICBMs.[5] Prior to
July 1994, Ukraine received $4 million from Germany in medical equipment
and officer housing.
Sources: [1] Raisa Stetsyura, ITAR-TASS (Moscow),
8/23/96, in "German Funds to Help Kiev Destroy 5 Nuclear Missile Silos,"
FBIS-SOV-96-166, 23 August 1996. [2] "Ukrainian-German Protocol on Assistance
in the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine Signed," Narodnaya Armiya,
29 August 1996, p. 1; in "Mykhtyuk & FRG Ambassador Sign Nuclear Disarmament
Accord," FBIS-UMA-96-192-S, 29 August 1996. [3] "Bonn and Kiev Work To Destroy
Missile Silos," Reuters, 13 October 1994. [4] "Germany Offers Aid For Nuclear
Disarmament," Intel News, 22 July 1994. [5] Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst,
17 September 1998; in "Bonn Continues To Help Ukraine To Scrap Nuclear
Weapons," FBIS-WEU-98-260.{Entered 10/17/96 GN, revised 12/2/96 MW; revised
12/9/99 CC}
12/11/2000: FRANCE, GERMANY SIGN MEMORANDUM WITH UKRAINE TO PROVIDE
SUPPORT TO CHORNOBYL CENTER Ukraine, Germany, and France signed a memorandum of support and
participation in Chornobyl Center activities concerning problems of nuclear
safety, radioactive waste, and the environment. For more information, see the
12/11/2000 entry in the
Chornobyl Center section. {Entered 2/19/01 RG}
7/15/2000: GERMANY RELUCTANT TO FUND COMPLETION
OF NPPS REPLACING CHORNOBYL Germany will not support the completion of NPPs to
compensate for the loss in energy production resulting from the closure
of Chornobyl, which
produces 5-7% of Ukraine's electricity. In the 1995 Ottawa Memorandum,
Western nations promised Ukraine $3 billion in assistance, provided
that Chornobyl would be shut down by 2000.[1] Despite prior
commitments, the German government's decision in June 2000 to phase out
nuclear energy has ended German funding of programs that advance the peaceful
use of nuclear energy.[2] With the exception of Germany, the G-7 supports
the completion of new units at Rivne NPP
and Khmelnytskyy NPP,
which are already more than 80% complete. The German government insists that, if
Western credits are provided, Ukraine should replace Chornobyl with a coal
or gas power plant.[3] Despite conflicts concerning nuclear energy between
Germany and Ukraine, the German government continues to honor its commitments
to Ukraine and will provide financial assistance in other areas such
as economic expansion.[4]
Sources: [1] "Chornobyl Conference in Berlin:
A Success?" Monitor, Vol. VI, No. 133, 11 July 2000. [2] "Atomkonsens: der umkehrbare Ausstieg,"
Die Tageszeitung, 15 June 2000, p. 3; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://web.lexis-nexis.com. [3] "Die Ukraine beharrt auf dem Bau
der Atomkraftwerke," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 July 2000,
p.1; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://web.lexis-nexis.com. [4] "Ukraine will neue Atommeiler vollenden;
Berlin bleibt bei Ablehnung," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 12 July 2000;
in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://web.lexis-nexis.com. {Entered 7/24/00
NEB} 2/10/99: GERMANY WILL FUND CONSTRUCTION OF A PROCESSING PLANT NEAR CHORNOBYL
NPP The German government will fund construction of a nuclear waste processing
facility in Slavutych (Kiev Oblast), where the Chornobyl Nuclear Power
Plant is located. The plant will focus on smelting and cleaning contaminated
metals from the Chornobyl sarcophagus and on processing reactor waste and
material associated with the shutdown of Ukrainian reactors. Operations
are expected to begin in 2000.
[Intelnews, 10 February 1999; in "German Loans Likely To
Build Nuclear Waste Process Plant," FBIS Document FTS19990210000327.] {Entered
8/12/99 SK}
IAEA From 6-8 November 1996, the IAEA hosted a meeting between
representatives of fourteen Newly Independent States (NIS) and nine countries
that have concluded nuclear assistance agreements with them, to review
the implementation of those agreements. Officials from Australia, Finland,
France, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United
States represented the donor countries. The meeting emphasized the need
for an integrated approach to nuclear nonproliferation assistance and included
topics such as MPC&A, export controls, establishment of nuclear-related
legislation, and political commitment to, and coordination of, nonproliferation
measures.
["Technical Support to Newly Independent States in Non-Proliferation
Field," IAEA Newsbriefs, 11-12/96, p. 3.] {Entered 2/20/97, SA}
ITALY In April 1994, Italy offered Ukraine an unspecified amount
of disarmament assistance. The amount and specific programs the aid will
cover are to be determined at a later date. [Kyiv Radio Ukraine World Service, 4/6/94; in "Italy
Offers Nuclear Assistance To Ukraine," JPRS-TND-94-010, 5/5/94.]
JAPAN On 2 March 1994, Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko and Japanese
Ambassador to Ukraine Shoji Suezawa signed a draft agreement on "Cooperation
on Eliminating Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine and On Setting Up a Committee
On Cooperation." In May 1994, it was announced that Ukraine would receive
$16 million of the $100 million that Japan pledged for dismantling nuclear
weapons in the four nuclear successor states of the Soviet Union. This
assistance will focus primarily on fissile material safeguards. Japan also provides safety training
assistance to Ukrainian nuclear power plants
through the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and the
Japan Electric Power
Information Center (JEPIC).[4] Sources: [1] Kyiv Radio Ukraine World Service, 5/6/94; in "Japan Offers
$16 Million For Nuclear Disarmament," FBIS-SOV-94-089, 5/9/94, p. 44. [2] "Western Dismantlement and Related Assistance For Ukraine,"
Department of State Fact Sheet. [3] Ukrinform for ITAR-TASS (Kyiv), 3/2/94, 14:10 GMT, in
"Ukraine-Japan Agreement On Nuclear Weapons Elimination," JPRS-TND-94-007,
3/23/94. [4] "Yaponskiye
eksperty obuchayut spetsialistov ukrainskikh AES," UNIAN, No. 7 (249), 10-16
February 2003. {Entered 5/14/2003 MJ}
3/4/97: JAPAN WILL CONTINUE TO ASSIST UKRAINE IN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT Japan's Ambassador to Ukraine Yuji Kurokawa told Ukrainian Defense Minister
Oleksandr Kuzmuk in a meeting in Kiev that Japan will continue to support
the disarmament process in Ukraine. Both sides recognized Japan's assistance
to Ukraine under the Ukrainian-Japanese agreement on Cooperation on Eliminating
Nuclear Weapons and on Setting Up a Committee on Cooperation, notably the
supply of medical equipment for military hospitals.
[Interfax, 4 March 1999; in "Tokyo To Continue Assistance
In Nuclear Disarmament," FBIS-SOV-97-063.] {Entered 9/3/99 SK}
TACIS For general information on the TACIS program in the former Soviet Union
please see the Russia: Foreign Assistance: International
Assistance file. In November 1995, TACIS allocated $1.1 million to
advise Derzhkomatom on how to restructure into a commercial style company
to produce and deliver electricity for Ukraine.
[Pearl Marshall, "Ukraine's Derzhkomatom To Receive Privatizing
Advice From UK Firms," Nucleonics Week, 11/30/95, p. 6.]
2/21/2003: SOUTH UKRAINE NPP RECEIVES TACIS-FUNDED SAFETY EQUIPMENT For more information, please see the
2/21/2003 entry in the
Ukraine: Reactor Safety Developments section.
{Entered 5/13/2003 MJ}
2/19/99: TACIS TO SUPPORT INCREASED NUCLEAR SAFETY The European Union pledged to support Ukraine's nuclear safety sector with
EUR 8 million ($8.9 million as of April 1999) in 1999 through the Technical
Assistance to the CIS (TACIS) program. The TACIS program focuses
on implementing nuclear safety in Ukraine through technical and organizational
assistance. The 1999 program is aimed to support the Khmelnytskyy,
Rivne,
South
Ukraine, and Zaporizhzhya
nuclear power plants and the state nuclear energy company Enerhoatom.
[UNIAN, 26 February 1999; in "TACIS Cash Pledged To Improve
Nuclear Safety," Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe,
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe.]
{Entered 3/4/99 SK}
UNITED KINGDOM 11/25/97: BRITISH ENERGY OPENS OFFICE IN KIEV British Energy, a private company operating in Ukraine since 1995, opened
an office in Kiev on 25 November 1997. Some of its main tasks include increasing
the safety of Ukraine's NPPs [1] and bringing the structure of the state-owned
Enerhoatom closer to the UK model. British Energy has allocated $2 million
for these projects.[2] British Energy has operated in Ukraine since 1995,
when it carried out a TACIS sponsored project on restructuring Derzhkomatom.[1]
Sources: [1] "British Energy Opens Office,"
Eastern Economist,
1 December 1997, p.14. [2] Pearl Marshall, "BEI Sees Ukraine Electric System Growing
Closer To New U.K. Model," Nucleonics Week, 27 November 1997, p.
12. {Entered 8/16/99 SK}
GENERAL WESTERN SUPPORT/EBRD On 15 November 1994, fourteen Western countries* and the
EU pledged $234.386 million in disarmament aid to Ukraine. The aid package
was announced on the eve of the Ukrainian Rada vote on joining the NPT,
but had been in the works since February 1994. There was no official breakdown
of aid by country. However, Sweden, Finland, and Norway concentrated their
assistance on fissile material controls, nuclear reactor safety, and export
control seminars. Germany has concentrated its assistance on housing, and
is investigating other potential projects (see German Support entry). The
assistance was in addition to the $500 million already granted by the G-7
and the EU for housing construction and Chornobyl programs and was to be
used specifically for defense conversion, servicemen relocation and retraining,
environmental cleanup, identification of alternative energy sources, nuclear
reactor safety upgrades, and general nonproliferation and dismantlement
projects. On 12/21/94, while addressing the UN General Assembly, President
Kuchma commented that he was dismayed at the slowness and inadequacy of
international disarmament assistance. He stated that Ukraine had hoped
that once it ratified the NPT, the promises of international assistance
would become more substantial and concrete.
*The 14 countries are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,
the United Kingdom, and United States.
Sources: [1] Ron Popeski, "West gives Ukraine $234 million in new
arms aid," REUTERS, 11/15/94. [2] UNIAN, 11/15/94, in "Foreign Ambassadors Announce New
Aid Package," FBIS-SOV-94-221, 11/15/94. [3] "Ukrainian President at UN," RFE/RL DAILY REPORT, No.
221, 12/22/94. [4] "Western Dismantlement and Related Assistance For Ukraine,"
Department of State Fact Sheet, 8/94.
3/2/2001: UKRAINE IS MEETING CONDITIONS TO RECEIVE WESTERN FINANCING FOR
NPP POWER UNIT CONSTRUCTION; FINANCING TO BEGIN IN SUMMER 2001 On 2 March 2001, Prime Minister
Viktor Yushchenko announced that Ukraine had met three of the five conditions
required by the EBRD to receive financing for the construction of
Khmelnytskyy NPP Unit 2 and
Rivne NPP Unit 4.[1] Ukraine
met the fourth condition by forming the
State Nuclear Regulatory Committee, an independent nuclear department, which
was confirmed by President Kuchma in March 2001.[2] The remaining unfulfilled
condition requires acquisition of financial commitments from other Western
export credit agencies.[1] The EBRD approved a $215 million loan in January
2001, contingent on the fulfillment of the five conditions.[3]
Enerhoatom project director Hennadiy
Sazonov said on 16 February 2001 that financing is expected to begin in the
summer of 2001. According to Sazonov, after financing begins, Khmelnytskyy-2
would become operational within 36 months, and Rivne-4 within 54 months. The
total construction cost is expected to be $1.48 billion.[4] Other expected
financial contributions to the project include $585 million from
Euratom, $348.3
million from Western export credit agencies, $123.7 million from Russia, $158.6
million from Enerhoatom, and $50 million from the government of Ukraine.[3] At
a meeting on 26 April 2001, Council of Europe delegates questioned the necessity
of Western funding (including EBRD loans) for NPP construction projects in
Ukraine.[5] Delegates cited poor Ukrainian safety procedures and warned of the
risk of a possible environmental disaster.
Sources: [1] "Yushchenko zayavlyayet o vypolnenii Ukrainoy trekh iz
pyati usloviy EBRR dlya finansirovaniya dostroyki blokov dlya AES," Interfax, 2
March 2001. [2] "Prezident utverdil Polozheniye o gosudarstvennom
komitete yadernogo regulirovaniya," UNIAN, No. 011(151), 12-18 March 2001. [3] "EBRD approves Ukraine loan," Nuclear Engineering
International, January 2001, p. 6-8. [4] "Finansirovaniye dostroyki blokov na Khmelnitskoy i
Rovenskoy AES, kak ozhidayetsya, nachnetsya v seredine leta," Interfax, 16
February 2001. [5] Elmar Guseynov, "Pozor tsenoy v sotni millionov: Sovet
Yevropy ostanovil razvitiye yadernoy energetiki na Ukraine," Izvestiya
online edition, http://www.izvestia.ru, 28
April 2001. {Entered 5/31/01 RG}
7/21/2000: EBRD LOAN FOR RIVNE AND KHMELNYTSKYY
NPPS IN JEOPARDY DUE TO GERMAN OPPOSITION Despite progress in negotiations between the Ukraine
and the EBRD, the loan for the completion of Rivne-4
and Khmelnytskyy-2 is in jeopardy largely due to opposition of the German government,
an influential EBRD shareholder. Additional stumbling blocks include an increase in
the estimated
cost of the project as well as the ongoing disagreement between the EBRD and
Ukraine regarding reforms in the Ukrainian energy market, which are prerequisites
for loan approval. This project is to be financed through
a combination of EBRD and Euratom loans, domestic Ukrainian contributions,
and commercial loans backed by national export credit agencies. Since
Hermes, a German export credit agency, has withdrawn from the project as
a result of the recent German nuclear energy phase-out policy, export credit
agencies from other countries will have to cover a larger portion of the
costs. If Germany were to vote against the EBRD loan for the project along
with other anti-nuclear countries such as Belgium, Denmark, and Ireland,
the loan will not be approved. Despite insufficient funding, the Ukrainian government has decided
to proceed with or without the EBRD loan.[1] As planned originally, the
Russian government has agreed to finance the construction of the nuclear
reactors.[2] In addition, the Ukrainian Energy Market Council has decided
to set aside 2.1 million hryvnyas ($386,000 as of 20 July 2000) daily from the energy market
account for the construction of Khmelnytskyy-2 and Rivne-4.[3] Despite recent actions
by the Ukrainian government, the State Committee on Economic Development
reporting to the Ukrainian Cabinet emphasized that a loan from the EBRD
would be the preferred method for funding the construction of the two
reactors.[4]
Sources: [1] Ann MacLachlan and Alexei Breus,
"Despite Optimism, Uncertainty Abounds for K2/R4 Funding," Nucleonics
Week, Vol. 41, No. 28, 13 July 2000. [2] "Ukraine to Borrow from EBRD to
Build Nuclear Generators," Interfax Daily News Bulletin, No. 2, 21 July
2000. [3] "Ukrainian Energy Market to Finance
Construction of Nuclear Power Plant Units," Interfax Daily News Bulletin,
No. 3, 20 July 2000. [4] Ivan Ivanov, "Russia to Help Build
2 Nuclear Power Plants in Ukraine," ITAR-TASS, 19 July 2000; in FBIS
Document CEP20000719000195.{Entered 7/26/2000 NEB}
7/5/2000: G-7, EU, AND 30 OTHER COUNTRIES PLEDGE FUNDS FOR CHORNOBYL SARCOPHAGUS At a donor conference that took place from 4-5 July in Berlin, the
G-7, EU and 30 other countries pledged an additional $320 million
to reconstruct the sarcophagus over Chornobyl's Unit 4.[1]
The G-7 initiated the Chornobyl Shelter Fund in Denver in 1997.[2] At the
first donor conference in New York, Western countries pledged $395 million for
the fund. The Chornobyl Shelter Fund now amounts to $715 million, just $53 million
short of the total need for the project. Ukraine hopes to raise the rest
of the funds at a third donor conference.[1] The EBRD stated that the current
funds are sufficient to begin the project and plans to announce tenders
for the stabilization of the current structures as well as the construction
of the permanent shelter. The new sarcophagus is to be finished in 2005.[2]
Sources: [1] "Chornobyl Conference in Berlin:
A Success?," Monitor, Vol. VI, No. 133, 11 Jul 2000. [2] Ann MacLachlan, "Pledges Come Close
to Meeting Total Needed for Chernobyl-4," Nucleonics Week, Vol.
41, No. 28, 13 Jul 2000. {Entered 7/20/2000 NEB}
7/23/99: UKRAINE AND EU SIGN AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR SAFETY During the third Ukraine-EU summit, Ukraine and the European Union signed
an agreement on nuclear safety, which aims to promote cooperation in radiation
protection, nuclear waste control, decontamination, and dismantling of
nuclear facilities. Ukraine and the European Union are also preparing to
sign an agreement on trade in nuclear materials.
[UNIAN, 23 July 1999; in "Ukraine, EU Sign Nuclear Safety
Agreement," FBIS Document FTS19990723001132.] {Entered 10/4/99 SK}
4/5/99: EBRD EXTENDED FUNDING FOR NUCLEAR SAFETY PROJECTS The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) extended its
aid to East European and CIS countries for nuclear and radiation safety
until 2003. The amount to be allocated to specific countries will be determined
by the International Advisory Group and will be based on "safety deficits
and needs of each country." The head of the Ukrainian Nuclear Regulatory
Administration and First Deputy Minister of the Environment and Nuclear
Safety Oleksandr Smyshlyayev was elected to a two-year term as co-head
of the group by the recipient countries. (The EBRD website may be consulted
for further information, please see: http://www.ebrd.org/excite/index.htm.)
[UNIAN, 5 April 1999; in "EBRD To Continue Nuclear Safety
Projects Aid," FBIS Document FTS19990406000738] {Entered 4/13/99 SK}
To return to the main
foreign assistance entry, see the 