The domestic government unilaterally withdrew from another agreement, the product of a vicious capitulation policy, carried out after the collapse of the USSR by the then leadership of our country. It's about a contract., regulating the supply of uranium hexafluoride from Russia to the United States - a derivative, obtained from the dilution and processing of the contents of the warheads of our nuclear weapons, which were “put under the knife” as a result of the craving for “disarmament” that swept the Kremlin in the 90s.
In order to understand the true reasons and significance of this step both for our country, as well as for the United States, it is necessary first to deal with the essence and meaning of the agreements now terminated.
Let's say "know" HEU-LEU
All of them should be considered in an inseparable unity., because that one, what Washington did and planned to do in this area, beginning with 1991 of the year, there were only two goals. The first is the complete deprivation of the nuclear potential of every single country of the then formed “post-Soviet space”. And the second is to get the maximum material benefit from this.. Everything is as always with the Americans… Hiding these motives, as usual, most, whatever good intentions: US Congressmen Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar are suddenly terribly preoccupied with the safety of nuclear weapons, stationed in the former republics of the Soviet Union and its possible "falling into the wrong hands". "Kind and generous" overseas "partners" expressed their most ardent desire to help solve these problems. At the same time, a number of agreements were signed, the main of which was START-1 and the Lisbon Protocol attached to it later, according to which Belarus refused the nuclear status, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. All atomic weapons, formerly in their territories, passed to Russia - and at the same time all the problems with its further storage or disposal. certainly, the main goal of the Americans was to turn our ballistic missiles into piles of useless and harmless scrap metal for them, strategic bombers and submarines. However, the problem of enriched, "weapon-grade" uranium. Finally, missiles, or, at worst, bombs can be made and new ones - there would be a desire. And in Washington they really wanted to "pull out the atomic teeth of the Russian bear" with a 100% guarantee. And not without your own benefit. The first idea about, that "completely unnecessary Russian" uranium, which will remain after their disarmament, it would be nice to put it on fuel for American nuclear power plants, calling it a "win-win", put forward by scientists Jeff Komz and Thomas Neff. it happened, characteristically, also in 1989 year, that proves: The Americans “buried” the USSR even then. 1991 year, when the Nunn-Lugar program was already approved, one of the authors of the idea returned to this issue - Dr. Thomas Neff from the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Namely, the VOU-NOU formula was proposed to them, decipherable, as a transfer of highly enriched weapons-grade uranium from "Russian warheads" to low-enriched uranium for US nuclear power plants. Neff called it the "great uranium deal" and he wasn't wrong. On that moment… However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. In the White House and the United States government, such initiatives were received very favorably., and the then president of Russia was ready to carry out almost any command, received from these authorities. Furthermore, our "partners" are well insured in order to, so that Moscow "does not jump off the hook". After all, commercial deliveries of uranium to the West (including, and in the US) from the USSR began long before its collapse - the first relevant contracts date back to the 70s of the twentieth century. However, 1992 The Commerce Department and the United States International Trade Commission “suddenly” initiated an anti-dumping investigation against our nuclear raw materials. It resulted in the introduction of a "suffocating" duty on 116% for all uranium, coming from Russia. Is it any wonder, that at the end 1992 of the year, immediately before the conclusion of the HEU-LEU Agreement (signed 18 February 1993 of the year), "anti-dumping investigation" was allegedly "stopped". Actually, no one thought to give up claims to our country. It’s just that the final decision on them was “postponed”, and predatory duties - temporarily removed. However, the sword of Damocles itself, hanging over supplies, still here.
Illuminate and warm America?
Unraveling warheads, the depletion of weapons-grade uranium obtained from them and its subsequent deliveries to the United States were carried out as part of the program with the loud name "Megatons to Megawatts". Megawatts really were more than enough - starting from about 2000 of the year, when the recycling cycle and, respectively, the level of deliveries reached the design level, they provided almost half of the fuel needs of the United States nuclear power industry, which was equivalent to about 10% of all electricity produced in the United States at that time. Rate the swing, given the size of the country and its energy "appetite"… No wonder - after all, within the framework of HEU-LEU, 500 tons of highly enriched weapons-grade uranium, of which were eventually obtained about 15 thousand tons of uranium hexafluoride, gone over the ocean. We can not say, to be paid at a high price, but, calculated, total amount, which came to the income of Russia as a result of the transaction, equals 17 billion dollars. Wherein, true, not without very high-profile corruption scandals, in which officials were involved up to the domestic Minister for Atomic Energy in 1998-2001 years of Evgeny Adamov and other leaders, involved in HEU-LEU. At the same time, it was about dozens of people who “floated away” to no one knows where., if not hundreds of millions of dollars. Howbeit, the last shipments of low-enriched uranium from our country to the United States were made in 2013 year, and now Russia has officially declared its unwillingness to continue the deal further. We will definitely no longer destroy our own warheads - quite the contrary. If you want to receive uranium for nuclear power plants - buy at prices, which we will call you. Better yet, purchase ready-made TVELs, so we will be even more profitable. AND, at the same time, stop trying to squeeze out Russian nuclear scientists from everywhere, wherever possible. From Ukraine - in particular…Upon closer examination of the final result of the HEU-LEU transaction, it turns out as follows, what a cruel joke she, how not to twist, did not play with Russia at all, and with its initiators - the Americans. First of all, they failed to carry out, under the Nunn-Lugar program, the complete destruction of our military potential and, Firstly, defense industry. For those, who continues to believe, that the US senators and the government in this case acted out of altruism and concern for world peace, I recommend to get acquainted with the revelations of such a famous person, like Ashton Carter, at one time a former assistant to the head of the Pentagon and one of the developers of the US nuclear doctrine. In one of his interviews, he honestly admitted: the crowning achievement of the program were “tens of thousands of scientists from the Russian military-industrial complex, who signed contracts with the United States and dreamed of not creating submarines and missiles for their country, but destroy them". The same character, by the way, announced the fact, that "in the pockets of American military contractors" went no less than 85% means, allegedly "allocated to Russia" for disarmament according to Nunn-Lugar. The end of all this has come, Unfortunately, all in the same 2013 year, when we stopped “feeding” American nuclear power plants with our uranium, it was then that the doors of at least the most secret facilities of the domestic military-industrial complex slammed shut in front of the “specialists” from the United States, where they felt almost at home before. Today, in the American media, the voices of various kinds of “experts” are already sounding with might and main., who declare that, that Russia "must explain, why she terminated the contract” and “cover the question of whether, How will control over its nuclear materials be carried out now?. how, as… Yes way! Why did you even decide, what should and can control us?Also, one of the important moments of the reaction of US representatives to the decision of our government was the statement, following from Orano (formerly COGEMA, subsequently Areva) About, that Russia's withdrawal from the agreement "will not entail negative economic consequences for the company and its customers", because it "possesses a number of other sources of supplies of natural uranium". maybe, these soothing speeches correspond to the truth, however, the main problem for the American nuclear industry lies elsewhere.. Believing that, that deliveries from Russia will last exactly as long, how much they want in the USA, and on their terms, they completely abandoned the development of their own nuclear industries. Ultimately, this led to, that, according to American analysts, such an important thing in the cycle of obtaining and fuel for nuclear power plants, and highly enriched uranium, as a technology for the separation of its isotopes, are in the US today "at the level of the early 90s of the last century". Right now, when the United States is determined to get rid of "dirty" power generation as soon as possible by burning coal or natural gas, this is very bad news. there is, however, and the other is much worse. Billions of dollars received from the sale of uranium from missiles cut to please Washington were not stolen or squandered in Russia. They were allowed to accelerate the industrial and scientific development of the country. AND, including, its military-industrial complex. What an evil irony of fate - the Americans who sought to reduce Russia's military potential to zero, in fact, financed the creation of "Vanguards", "Daggers" and "Poseidons". Deliveries of uranium to the United States can be continued - there are relevant agreements and contracts. However, now it will be done on a fair basis., market price, not "as they decide in Washington". There, however, lacks the head of the mournful Russophobes, who call on uranium from the Russians not to buy in any case. At a minimum, reintroduce draconian duties on it. Well, gentlemen - you want to return to the candle and the torch, your will. From now on, Washington will have to take care of obtaining megawatts for its citizens and industry on its own.. And at the same time – think hard about your behavior, not to get megatons from overseas…
