By Emmanuel Ukudolo I Sunday, Sept 28, 2025
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, speaking at the World Atomic Week forum in Moscow, claimed a global competitive edge for his country’s state-backed nuclear energy sector and announced plans for a “revolutionary” new reactor designed to virtually eliminate radioactive waste.
Mr. Putin positioned Russia as the world’s singular leader in the nuclear energy supply chain, asserting that Russian-designed nuclear power plants are in “highest demand across the world” due to their security, safety, and “resilience to external influence.”
His address comes as the international forum marks the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Russia’s nuclear industry.
In his remarks, the president underscored Russia’s support for “development aspirations and the use of peaceful nuclear energy to achieve these aspirations.”
The most significant announcement was the planned launch of what Mr. Putin described as the world’s first nuclear power system with a closed nuclear fuel cycle in the Tomsk Region of Russia as soon as 2030.
“This is a revolutionary invention by Russian engineers and scientists,” Mr. Putin said. The system, he explained, is designed to reuse “almost the entire amount, 95 percent of spent nuclear fuel, multiple times in reactors.”
The mechanism, the Russian president claimed, would allow the nation to “almost fully eliminate the problem of the pile-up of radioactive waste” and, crucially, help “address the issue of securing supplies of uranium.”
The emphasis on a closed fuel cycle—a long-sought goal for the nuclear industry globally—highlights a key technological area where Russia is seeking to maintain and expand its dominance in the international energy market.
Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has already secured major deals to construct nuclear plants in numerous countries, leveraging its comprehensive control over the entire supply chain, from uranium mining to decommissioning.
The World Atomic Week international forum, focused on the nuclear industry and related branches, is taking place in Moscow from September 25–28.
Russia’s push for global nuclear energy leadership has drawn scrutiny from Western nations, which view its state-controlled energy exports as a form of geopolitical leverage.
