Russia’s nuclear plants are ageing. Who will pay to dismantle them?

What the report says

Russia faces a growing financial and technical challenge as its nuclear fleet ages, according to Al Jazeera’s article, which examines who will pay for decommissioning reactors at home while Moscow continues to export nuclear technology abroad. The piece says some Russian reactors are already more than 50 years old and notes that Rosenergoatom plans to decommission 35 reactors, with its own estimates pointing to a funding gap of about 18.7 billion euros against total costs of roughly 21 billion euros.

The report places Russia’s situation in a wider context by pointing to the long and costly dismantling of the Soviet-era Ignalina plant in Lithuania, where decommissioning has taken decades and costs have risen far beyond earlier expectations. It argues that Russia may be delaying major dismantling work by placing shut-down reactors into long-term safe storage, pushing risks and expenses into the future rather than resolving them.

The article also highlights the burden of radioactive waste, saying Russia inherited large volumes from the Soviet period and could generate much more as 36 reactor units at eight plants are retired. It warns that if money runs short, nuclear facilities cannot simply be abandoned, raising concerns about safety, waste management and possible state liabilities.

Beyond the financial issue, the piece says Russia’s weakening environmental oversight, wartime budget priorities and repression of environmental groups make independent monitoring harder. It also suggests that countries partnering with Russia on nuclear projects should plan for maintenance and decommissioning risks, given the possibility of future disruption or political change.