**The Hidden Threat: How Rosatom’s Nuclear Empire Funds Putin’s War Machine**
Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency, Rosatom, has been quietly infiltrating Western energy markets for decades. But behind the facade of a civilian energy company lies a sprawling industrial empire with military priorities. As Ukraine’s Mykhailo Gonchar explains in an exclusive interview, every contract with Rosatom inadvertently supports the Kremlin’s strategic weapons buildup.
**Rosatom: A Nuclear Weapons Corporation Disguised as Energy Giant**
Gonchar, a Ukrainian energy expert, reveals that Rosatom’s civilian division is merely its secondary function. The agency’s primary focus is on nuclear weapons production, employing over 88,000 people directly involved in this work. Every customer buying fuel or technology from Rosatom is indirectly funding the Kremlin’s strategic arms programs.
Despite this clear connection, Rosatom has faced minimal sanctions. Only a few top executives have been individually targeted by Western governments. Gonchar attributes this lack of action to Russia’s deep infiltration of Western structures through cheap energy and materials.
**The “Nuclear Octopus”: How Rosatom Quietly Took Hold**
Rosatom didn’t follow the same playbook as Gazprom, instead using a long game of strategic infiltration to build influence across borders. It offered cut-rate uranium, maintenance contracts, and technical support to countries like Hungary, Slovakia, and France. These nations now heavily rely on Rosatom, ignoring EU pressure.
France, for example, has resisted sanctions despite having its own nuclear technology. Gonchar warns that even environmental groups contributed to the problem by advocating for outsourcing US nuclear facilities to Russia in the 1990s.
**Zaporizhzhia: A Dormant Burden with Explosive Risks**
Rosatom oversees the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, seized from Ukraine in 2022. All six reactors remain in cold shutdown due to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and Russia’s inability to maintain them. The Kremlin wants to restart the plant as a symbol of control over Europe’s largest nuclear facility.
However, according to Gonchar, restarting the plant is “technically impossible” due to incompatible safety systems, insufficient skilled staff, damaged grid infrastructure, high risks of incident or meltdown, and no IAEA approval.
**Conclusion: Time to Name the Threat**
Rosatom is not a partner in clean energy; it’s the backbone of Russia’s nuclear weapons complex. Its business empire funds warhead development, imports banned technology, and exerts quiet influence abroad. As long as Rosatom remains unsanctioned, Western governments are funding both ends of Russia’s war effort.
The window for action is still open, Gonchar warns. But only if the West recognizes what Rosatom really is—a nuclear weapons company hiding behind civilian contracts.
