Belarus has announced plans to construct a second nuclear power plant, which may potentially supply energy to regions of Ukraine under Russian control. This proposal was put forward by President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, where Putin seemed to express public support for the initiative.
According to Lukashenko, the new power plant could provide energy to areas including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk, should the need arise. Belarus's first nuclear power facility, the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant, became operational in November 2020. This plant was constructed by the Russian state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, with financial assistance from a $10 billion loan from Moscow.
During the meeting, however, Putin did not confirm whether Russia would offer financial backing for the construction of a second plant. Lukashenko, a long-time ally of the Kremlin, has been in power in Belarus for over three decades. He supported Moscow by allowing Belarusian territory to be used for Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and later permitted the stationing of Russian tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus.
(AP)
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