🧪 Despite sanctions and a stated desire to cut ties, the United States continues to depend heavily on Russia for uranium enrichment. After the program to reprocess Soviet weapons-grade uranium ended, American enrichment capacity shrank dramatically, while Russia's Rosatom kept the largest share of the global market. A formal ban on Russian uranium imports that took effect in 2024 comes with waivers allowing purchases through 2028.

The problem is that the US has almost nothing to replace Russian supply with quickly. The only major American enrichment facility belongs to Urenco, and new projects by US companies that received federal funding aren't expected to reach industrial scale until the 2030s. Alternatives from European companies are limited too, since their spare capacity is small and Europe is trying to reduce its reliance on Russia.

This gives Moscow economic and geopolitical leverage. That matters especially as the Trump administration plans to sharply expand US nuclear power. Some of the most promising reactors require a type of low-enriched uranium that, at commercial scale, is produced today essentially only by Russia. So Washington is stuck pursuing two opposing goals at once: escaping Russian dependence and building an industry that may only deepen it.

Why the US can't quit Russian uranium

💥Ellinne