As of today, the Eastern Ore Mining and Processing Plant (SE “EastMPP”), the only uranium mining and uranium processing enterprise in Ukraine, is in crisis due to a prolonged suspension of production in 2022. The company’s accounts payable amount to UAH 3.7 billion.

“The company’s financial condition has deteriorated in recent months; any payments have ceased. There is a real threat of stopping the production, and returning to a long downtime of the plant, which will entail destruction of the uranium mining and uranium processing industry of Ukraine”, the deputies note.

Yuriy Drozd, the head of the regional council, emphasized: “The plant paid almost 200 million taxes annually to the local budgets of the region. What does it mean to lose 200 million for our region when our budget is 2 billion 400 million? It is about 10%. Therefore, the stable functioning of SE “EastMPP” is very important for the Kirovohrad region.

In the appeal, the Regional Council asks the President of Ukraine to ensure that the Cabinet of Ministers implements measures to approve the State Target Economic Program for the Development of the Nuclear and Industry Complex until 2026 and takes steps to finance the State Enterprise “EastMPP” in order to increase the production of uranium oxide concentrate to fully meet the needs of the domestic nuclear industry.

The deputies also appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the provision of budgetary support to the company to cover the costs of uranium production in the amount of 1 billion 75 million hryvnia per year; provision of a loan of UAH 900 million for 3 years under the guarantees of SE NNEGC “Energoatom”; prevention of bankruptcy or reorganization of SE “EastMPP”; approval of the construction of the plant for nuclear fuel production in the Kirovohrad region; continuation of uranium ore mining at the Smolinska mine and others.

The administration and the company’s trade union committee have been appealing for more than a year to the executive bodies of various levels in search of state support. In June 2023, the chairman of the primary trade union of the SE “EastMPP”, Vitaly Skuba, has addressed to the Kirovohrad Regional Council with the request to join in solving the problematic issues of the enterprise.

According to SE “EastMPP”, the ordinary session of the regional council was attended by the assistant to the general director of the company Olexandr Sorokin, the head of trade union Vitaly Skuba, and leaders of the mines.

As a reminder, on June 30, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed Igor Bugayov, First Deputy General Director of SE “EastMPP”, who previously worked in SE “NNEGC “Energoatom”, particularly, as a head of the Separate Subdivision “Administration of Affairs”. His predecessor, former DTEK manager Sergiy Shovgelya, resigned voluntarily. In the appeals to various authorities, the trade union of SE “EastMPP” has repeatedly accused him and the Ministry of Energy of inactions regarding the financial problems of the Company. Also, the petition of the trade union contained the concern that Igor Bugayov, who at that time was only planned to be appointed the head of the enterprise, had experience in closing coal mines.