Overview
- Greenpeace filmed the loading of about a dozen containers labeled as reprocessed uranium at Dunkerque on November 15 onto the cargo ship Mikhail Dudin.
- The vessel, flagged in Panama, left for Russia with a reported route to the Ust-Luga terminal before rail transport to Seversk, where Tenex operates enrichment facilities.
- Such exports are lawful and not targeted by international sanctions, reflecting ongoing commitments linked to a €600 million contract signed by EDF with Tenex in 2018.
- Greenpeace says only roughly 10% of uranium re-enriched in Russia returns to France for use at the Cruas plant, with the remainder staying in Russia, which the NGO calls immoral.
- France’s Energy Ministry, EDF and Orano did not respond to queries, as campaigners cite a 2022 government instruction to halt such exports and note that France has been examining domestic conversion and enrichment options since 2024.