France Still Imports Russian Uranium Despite War, as EU Sanctions Skip Nuclear Fuel

Trade in uranium between France and Russia has continued for nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine because nuclear fuel has not been targeted by EU sanctions, according to Le Monde on January 28.

The outlet said that shipments linked to Russia still arrive in France and that customs data showed nearly half of France’s natural uranium imports between 2022 and September 2025 came from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where it said Rosatom  remains a major foreign mining player through its subsidiary Uranium One, while Orano’s, France’s state-owned nuclear fuel company, output is largely sold to Chinese clients.

Le Monde reported that France relies on Orano’s conversion and enrichment capacity and is expanding the Georges-Besse II plant at Tricastin, but also uses Rosatom services.

Customs records cited by Le Monde showed Russian enriched uranium’s share of French imports fell from 67% in 2022 to 24% in 2024, though Greenpeace said deliveries continued in 2025, including one it documented in October at Dunkirk.

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Le Monde said France resumed exports of reprocessed uranium in November 2025 for treatment at Seversk in Siberia, described as the only site able to “recycle” it for reuse.

The European Commission told Le Monde it aims to replace Russian nuclear fuel where possible but could not give a timeline, and Le Monde cited Bruegel  as saying uranium made up just over $835 million of the EU’s $26.24 billion in energy imports from Russia in 2024.  

Earlier, it was reported that Russia led US nuclear fuel imports in 2024 despite a federal ban on enriched uranium, highlighting continued dependency through regulatory waivers.

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