Zelensky Slams 'Weakness' of West Over Lack of Russian Nuclear Sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Western allies on Tuesday for not striking out against Russia's nuclear energy industry amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Zelensky said during a speech at this week's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that Russia's nuclear industry not being placed under global sanctions signaled "a clear weakness" by the West.

Ukraine's Western allies have placed extensive economic sanctions on Russia since Putin's invasion began on February 24, 2022. While the sanctions target Russia's fossil fuels industry and a host of other companies and individuals, Moscow's nuclear energy industry, controlled by the state corporation Rosatom, has been largely unscathed.

According to Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "terrorist" who took a nuclear facility "hostage"—a reference to Putin's troops controlling Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since capturing it in March 2022.

"Of course, I am grateful for each package of sanctions," Zelensky said, according to Ukrainska Pravda. "But bringing peace closer will be a reward for all those who care to ensure that sanctions work 100 percent.

"By the way, it's a clear weakness of the West that Russia's nuclear industry is still not under global sanctions, even though Putin is the only terrorist in the world who took a nuclear power plant hostage," he added.

Zelensky went on to say that Putin "loves money above all" and will "regret starting" the war if sanctions result in major losses for "he and his oligarch friends."

Newsweek reached out for comment to Putin's office via email on Tuesday.

The lack of sanctions is likely due to the vital role that Rosatom plays in facilitating the global nuclear industry. Russia is one of the few countries that supply enriched uranium, which is used as nuclear fuel.

Despite the war, the U.S. continues to spend billions on importing enriched uranium from Russia, which supplies roughly 25 percent of nuclear fuel for American plants.

Last month, the U.S. House passed a bill that would ban Russian imports of Uranium, although the restrictions would not be implemented until 2028.

It is not yet clear whether the legislation will pass in the Senate or be signed by President Joe Biden if it reaches his desk.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, European Union countries imported more nuclear fuel and services from Russia in both 2023 and 2022 than they did before the war started in 2021, according to Reuters.

During the Davos meeting on Tuesday, Zelensky also reiterated his stance against a ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia war, arguing that Putin "is a predator" who would not be "satisfied with a frozen product."

"This year must be decisive," said Zelensky. "Can freezing the war in Ukraine be its end? I don't want to settle for the truism that any frozen conflict will eventually reignite."

"I remind you that after 2014, there were attempts to freeze the war in Donbas," he continued. "But Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with a frozen product."

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