Russia's ageing nuclear plants

Posted: 7th October 2026

 Russia’s nuclear plants are ageing. Who will pay to dismantle them?
Moscow faces a huge decommissioning bill at home even as it expands its
nuclear industry abroad. The world often discusses the nuclear threat posed
by Russia, but far less attention is paid to the nuclear risks within
Russia itself, particularly those posed by ageing nuclear power plants,
some of whose reactors are already more than 50 years old. At the same
time, Russia is building nuclear power plants around the world, from
Turkiye to Bangladesh, while promoting nuclear energy as a

sustainable” alternative to fossil fuels. Russian President Vladimir
Putin regularly meets with foreign leaders to discuss existing and
potential nuclear projects. Yet one question remains largely overlooked:
what happens to these nuclear facilities when they reach the end of their
operational lives? During the Soviet period, nuclear power plants were
built across the USSR, including in Lithuania. As part of Lithuania’s
accession to the European Union, the country was required to shut down the
two Soviet-built reactors at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. The first
reactor was closed in 2004 and the second in 2009. The decommissioning
process has proved both extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming. By
2020, the estimated cost had reached 3.3 billion euros ($3.7bn), with only
49 percent of the planned work completed. The process, initially scheduled
for completion in 2038, is now expected to continue until 2049. Russia
itself does not seem to be paying much attention to this question.
Rosenergoatom plans to decommission 35 reactors. Yet the company’s own
estimates point to a funding shortfall of approximately 18.7 billion euros,
while the total estimated cost of decommissioning is about 21 billion
euros. And these are Rosenergoatom’s own estimates. Actual
decommissioning costs are usually significantly higher than initially

projected. Environmental NGO Bellona Foundation reports, based on
Rosatom’s own projections, that by around 2037, Rosatom’s
decommissioning and remediation obligations could exceed its net profit.
Moreover, the longer decommissioning is delayed, the greater the associated
financial, technical and safety risks are likely to become. Another major
issue is the legacy of radioactive waste. Russia has inherited
approximately 774,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste from the Soviet
Union. The upcoming decommissioning of 36 reactor units at eight nuclear
power plants is expected to generate an additional 800,000 cubic metres of
radioactive waste.

 Al Jazeera 4th Oct 2026

 https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/10/4/russias-nuclear-plants-are-ageing-who-will-pay-to-dismantle-them