According to Reuters, EU representatives have once again failed to agree on the 15th package of sanctions against Russia. The reason: two EU member states opposed extending the deadlines granted to European companies for withdrawing their investments from Russia. Among the restrictions under consideration in the 15th package are sanctions targeting energy facilities, oil and gas infrastructure, and nuclear industry enterprises. The latter sector has recently drawn increasing attention.
However, it can already be stated that Russia’s nuclear industry has suffered a significant loss. On December 5, one of its pillars, academician, physicist, and thermonuclear fusion specialist Yevgeny Velikhov, passed away in Moscow. Since 1989, he has headed the USSR’s primary scientific centre in this field, the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. He served as its head until 2015 and later became the honorary president of the Atomic Centre.
He laid the groundwork for technologies that today define the present and future of Russia’s nuclear industry. Under his leadership, the Kurchatov Institute evolved from a mere scientific centre into a true forge of breakthrough technologies—from controlled thermonuclear fusion to microelectronics.
For his exceptional contributions to science, a minor planet was named in his honor. While Russia’s nuclear industry has suffered a major loss, the sanctions pressure on the aggressor nation must continue.
