Evidently Vladimir Putin intends to threaten the West with nuclear war.
The bizarre thing is that Washington and his allies are helping him.
The Russian dictator has just announced that he can place atomic bombs in Belarus.
The US intelligence community assessed in February that Moscow “increased its reliance on nuclear weapons” after the invasion of Ukraine and can proceed to develop its nuclear capabilities.
Putin then destroyed the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty and increased Moscow’s nuclear readiness.
Faced with mounting losses in Ukraine, Putin also threatened to use nuclear weapons.
What was Washington’s response?
Rhetorically oppose any of those actions, but insist on buying billions of nuclear goods from Rosatom, the entity accountable for the event and production of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
Annually, Europe and america purchase roughly $1 billion price of civilian nuclear goods and services directly from Rosatom.
Hungary, Bulgaria and France are quite busy trading with the Russian conglomerate.
Uranium mining and enrichment within the US is not the most cost effective or essentially the most accessible, which is why America buys Russian. US nuclear firms buy from Rosatom the 14% of the enriched uranium they need to power their reactors.
It’s worrying, however it’s getting worse.
The U.S. intelligence community recently warned: “Russia is developing and modernizing its large, diverse and modern set of non-strategic systems which are able to carrying nuclear or conventional warheads.”
![A Russian rocket launcher being transported to an undisclosed location in Russia.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000008931496.jpg?w=1024)
Rosatom will play a key role on this expansion.
In a recent settlement, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute determined that Rosatom’s annual support for Russia’s nuclear weapons budget is $2 billion a 12 months.
Rosatom admits that it is a “supporter of a unified national policy” within the “nuclear weapons industry.”
Its general director sits on the Russian Military-Industrial Commission, which coordinates Moscow’s defense industry.
“The military importance of nuclear energy (and Rosatom) for Russia is clearly demonstrated by the undeniable fact that the corporation oversees the Russian nuclear weapons complex, which develops, tests and produces all the country’s nuclear munitions,” the NATO evaluation concludes.
“Rosatom’s achievements have strengthened Russia’s national security and increased Moscow’s ability to challenge the US-led world order.”
But there is more.
Rosatom is also a key player within the Russian occupation and theft of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant where Ukrainian staff routine subject to Russian atrocities.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has repeatedly condemned Putin’s dangerous military attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, and even had to deploy IAEA personnel to the Zaporozhye plant to deter attacks.
Punishment for Rosatom for this? Zilch.
As a substitute, the US and the West proceed to function clients and consider Russia to be a good member of the IAEA.
![The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, and his staff visit the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, March 29, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000008982166.jpg?w=1024)
Finally, Rosatom is partnering with Beijing to fuel China’s option to expand its nuclear stockpile.
Recently before Congress, Deputy Secretary of Defense John Plumb confirmed that Rosatom had shipped tons of enriched uranium to China for Beijing’s fast reactor program, which is able to produce extremely high-grade weapons-grade plutonium.
The response of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Armed Services Committee chairmen was swift: “Every dollar and euro that Rosatom brings directly funds the death and destruction we see in Ukraine, China’s nuclear weapons expansion, and is a direct threat to the American lifestyle.” they warned, demanding the “full application of sanctions” to stop Putin from using Rosatom to “query U.S. interests.”
Unfortunately, Biden has yet to take motion. His administration was too risk averse to shake up energy markets and the nuclear industry and disrupt transatlantic unity over Ukraine.
Biden’s team has resisted imposing sanctions on the Russian corporate giant for months, despite repeated pleas from Kiev.
Congress has not passed any laws on the matter.
![The Biden administration has yet to sanction Rosatom.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009216021.jpg?w=1024)
Some European countries – comparable to Germany and Finland – broke off contacts with Rosatom; others don’t.
The European Union is debating whether and the way to impose sanctions on Rosatom.
The US should revive this debate by demonstrating its own willingness to cut off its nuclear dependence on Russia.
Washington should announce that it is ending imports of Russian uranium ore and buy supplies from Canada and Australia.
With U.S. reactors still depending on Rosatom fuel, nuclear plants can supply additional imported uranium to enrichment plants operating in Western Europe and Recent Mexico for fuel production. Washington may even select to financially support this transformation.
So far as Europe and other countries are concerned, the White House and Congress should consider imposing secondary sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that don’t end their cooperation with Rosatom inside a certain time period.
If we’re serious about curbing Putin’s most horrific nuclear activities, we should always start by blocking their funding – from us.
Henry Sokolski is the Executive Director of the Center for Non-Proliferation Policy Education and was Deputy Non-Proliferation Policy Officer on the Department of Defense. Andrea Stricker is Deputy Director of the Non-Proliferation and Biological Defense Program and a researcher on the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.