INTERFAX-UKRAINE //

“Ukraine will adjust its long-term energy strategy after the events in Japan, however, it will not reject the development of nuclear energy”, Prime Minister of Ukraine, Nikolay Azarov, declares.

"The energy strategy shall, certainly, be adjusted even because all the countries of the world will make conclusions from the technogenic catastrophe in Japan and respond to the arisen risks",  the employee of the Prime Minister Press Service quoted the statements made by N. Azarov to"Interfax-Ukraine " Agency in his interview to Austrian newspaper “Der Standard”.

"Anyway, we shall search for reasonable balance between use of nuclear energy, which is currently providing half of the needs of the economic development, and the ecological balance, which is, certainly, the important component of the life quality",  N.Azarov declared.

In addition, the Prime Minister has emphasized that the safety and operation regulations of the Ukrainian NPPs have been tightened and strictly supervised.

According to his information, in the current year the expenses for the programs on energy saving and energy efficiency, as well as on use of  alternative electric power sources,  have been materially increased in the country.

In Ukraine four NPPs are operating, which maintain 15 power units equipped with Water-cooled Power Reactors with the total installed electric power of 13,835 GW.