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Greenpeace Documents French Reprocessed Uranium Shipment to Russia From Dunkirk

The episode highlights France’s reliance on Russian uranium conversion services outside existing sanctions.

Overview

  • Greenpeace said it filmed on Saturday the loading of at least a dozen radioactive‑marked containers onto the Panama‑flagged cargo ship Mikhail Dudin in Dunkirk.
  • The cargo is bound for the Louga bay terminal near St. Petersburg, with the material expected to continue by rail to Seversk for processing at Tenex facilities operated by Rosatom.
  • Greenpeace described this as the first observed export of reprocessed uranium to Russia in more than three years.
  • Such transfers are legal under current European sanctions, and EDF’s 2018 €600 million contract with Rosatom subsidiary Tenex governs the recycling of reprocessed uranium.
  • The French energy ministry, EDF and Orano did not respond to requests for comment, while France has been examining a domestic conversion and enrichment site and Greenpeace says only about 10% of re‑enriched uranium returns for use at the Cruas plant.