Ukrainian officials have revealed that they plan to build four new nuclear power reactors to replace power capacity lost from the war with Russia. Ukraine’s Energy Minister, German Galuschenko, told Reuters on Thursday that the nation hopes to begin construction much faster than previously stated by officials in Kyiv, with all four new reactors being built at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine as soon as this summer. 

“I think (we will start construction) in summer-autumn,” Galushchenko said. “We want to do the third and fourth units right away.” 

Much of the effort to rapidly rebuild Ukraine’s nuclear capacity is an attempt to make up for the takeover of Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, which Russia gained control of in early March 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. 

“With the third and fourth (Khmelnytkyi units) we want to compensate for Zaporizhzhia, and now we are in the talks with our Bulgarian partners on the two reactors we want to take,” Galushchenko said. He noted that he was optimistic about the timeline for the project, stating: “If we received the reactor vessels today, I think it would be 2.5 years and we would have a third reactor online.” 

Nuclear energy is Ukraine’s most dominant source of energy, making up around 60% of the country’s capacity in 2022. As such, the UK announced a £192m (Hrv9.17bn) loan to support Ukraine’s nuclear industry in 2023, with the UK energy secretary remarking that “Putin has used energy as a weapon of war”.  

Nuclear is not the only power source that has taken a hit in Ukraine from Russia’s invasion. In June, an alleged Russian attack on the Nova Kakhova dam caused widespread flooding and irreparable damage to the attached hydroelectric power station, leaving almost 12,000 people in the city of Kherson without electricity.