Russia’s Rosatom continues to build reactors overseas and pursue new customers despite Western sanctions. Convincing countries that Russia can honor decades-long nuclear power deals may be “a difficult, difficult sell,” even though Western sanctions have left much of its atomic energy business intact, a Russia specialist says. Rasmus Nilsson, a lecturer in Russian foreign policy and post-Soviet politics at University College London, told TVP World’s Eastern Express program that Russia’s state nuclear company, Rosatom, still has “some international competitiveness.” Its projects also serve a political purpose. Nilsson described nuclear exports as “a way in which Russia can politically try to bind other countries.” Nuclear contracts can involve decades of construction, maintenance and technical support. But customers must believe Moscow can sustain that commitment. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nilsson said, “that sort of commitment becomes more and more difficult to sustain for Russia.” Sanctions haven't stopped Russia Sanctions have affected Russian nuclear exports “not as much as you might expect,” Nilsson said. Rosatom has continued work on projects already underway, including Turkey’s Akkuyu plant, while pursuing opportunities in Africa and the Middle East. In June, Moscow signed an agreement to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant. Rosatom has traditionally offered what Nilsson called “a full packaged solution,” building plants and keeping them running for decades. But he argued that Moscow's war against Ukraine and sanctions are undermining confidence in Russia’s financial capacity to deliver. Competition from China Nilsson identified China as a formidable rival, particularly in Central Asia, where governments must weigh the reliability of prospective partners. He also pointed to uncertainty over Vladimir Putin’s eventual successor and the risk of younger Russian scientists leaving for better opportunities abroad. Private suppliers from the US and Europe could also compete for contracts, including projects left unfinished by Russia, provided the technical foundations are sound. “China has the money to follow up on any commitments it might give in nuclear and other spheres,” Nilsson said.
