Belarus is proposing to build the second nuclear power plant in the east of the country that could supply electricity to Russian-held regions in Ukraine, President Aleksandr Lukashenko said on Thursday.
Addressing international forum World Atomic Week in Moscow, Lukashenko said he would discuss the matter with his Russian counterpart and close ally Vladimir Putin and make a decision. “We have no doubts about who will build this plant. We will build it together with the Russians, because they taught us how to do it. We are already taking part in the construction of similar plants in certain other countries at Rosatom’s request,” Lukashenko stressed. He explained that the plant could be used if needed to supply Russian-held areas in Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions.
Exiled opposition activist of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said the planned construction of the power plant threatens the entire Europe. “By proposing that Putin build a second nuclear power plant in Belarus to supply electricity to occupied territories in Ukraine, Lukashenko once again proves he is complicit in Russian aggression. He is trading Belarusian sovereignty for power and profits from war crimes.”
Belarus that borders both Russia and Ukraine, opened its first nuclear power plant Astravyets 40 kilometers south of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in 2020 amid concerns and protests from the Baltic country.
