Russian uranium fuels Swiss nuclear plants: Greenpeace

Swiss nuclear energy still dependent on Russia, according to Greenpeace Keystone-SDA

More than four years after the start of the war in Ukraine, Swiss nuclear power plants are still heavily dependent on Russia for the supply of uranium, according to Greenpeace.

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Replacing Russian uranium with supplies from Kazakhstan is not enough to cut this dependency, says the environmental NGO.

Swiss energy company Axpo has announced a partnership last year with Kazatomprom, the leading Kazakh company in the uranium sector.

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Until now, Axpo has sourced all of the fuel for the two reactors at its Beznau power plant from Russia and half of the fuel for its reactor in Leibstadt.

Even if the mining locations change, the Russian company Rosatom remains indispensable, said Greenpeace. This is because the majority of the uranium mined in Kazakh mines is exported via a route through Russia that ends in St Petersburg. There it is loaded onto Russian ships and transported to European harbours.

The international trans-Caspian transport route – which runs from southeast Asia to Europe – could be an alternative, but has logistical shortcomings and is also exposed to considerable geopolitical risks, according to Greenpeace.

No traceability

Uranium is also completely untraceable. It is interchangeable and is mixed from different sources in the enrichment process. Several of Axpo’s suppliers process uranium supplied by Rosatom.

The quantities exported via or transported through Russia made it indispensable for the industry. This explains why no country has imposed sanctions against Rosatom since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Greenpeace said.

The decision in favour of nuclear energy “drives us into the clutches of Russia instead of freeing us from them”, added the NGO. Only a transition to renewable energies would allow Switzerland to become fully independent in the energy sector, said Florian Kasser, nuclear expert at Greenpeace Switzerland.

Diversified supply chain

In response to an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency, Axpo explained that the fuel supply for Leibstadt and Beznau has no longer been dependent on Russian sources since 2022 due to reserves.

Following extensive negotiations, Axpo diversified its supply chain in February 2025 and concluded new fuel procurement contracts with uranium mining companies from Canada and Kazakhstan. Uranium will be further processed in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States.

In addition, since spring 2026 there have no longer been any ongoing contracts involving uranium from Russia. According to Axpo, there are no direct or indirect financial flows to Russia or to Russian parties from the contracts with Kazatomprom.

No Swiss sanctions

For its part, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) confirmed that the European Union has not yet imposed any sanctions in relation to uranium and material for nuclear power plants. The transit of uranium from other countries (such as Kazakhstan) through Russian territory is also not subject to any sanctions.

Federal legislation does not allow the government to impose sanctions on its own. Should the EU ban the import of Russian uranium, the Federal Council would carefully examine the measure in question, Seco added.

Adapted from German by AI/mga

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