Energoatom yesterday announced the introduction of measures to protect its key workers from exposure to COVID-19. They are being housed in separate rooms within specially appointed hotels, where all the necessary measures for disinfection and medical monitoring are being carried out, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator said.

ProZorro, the public e-procurement system that Ukraine launched in 2016, saved nuclear power plant operator Energoatom more than UAH1 billion last year and the average number of offers per purchase increased by 8.5%. ProZorro was developed by anti-corruption organisation Transparency International Ukraine as a collaborative effort between the government, business sector and social groups.

NuScale Power and Ukraine's State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety have announced the signature of an agreement to start work on the evaluation of national regulatory and design processes related to the implementation of NuScale small modular reactor technology in Ukraine.

Energoatom yesterday discussed eight legislative bills that it says require adoption to help it continue to meet international obligations, standards and requirements, as well as others that concern the nuclear power plant operator's budget. The meeting was attended by Pavel Pavlyshin, Energoatom's acting president, and Ostap Shipailo, chairman of the subcommittee on nuclear energy and nuclear safety of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has approved commercial operation using Westinghouse fuel at unit 3 of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant. The regulatory authority signed the relevant document after pilot operation of the unit had shown the fuel was "safe, reliable and efficient", Energoatom said on 28 December.

Ukraine has this week held public hearings on plans to extend by 15 years the operation of unit 3 of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant, which entered commercial operation in 1989. Another topic for discussion is the fact the unit's reactor core is fully loaded with Westinghouse fuel, and the country's nuclear regulator, SNRC, told participants in the hearings it expected to approve commercial operation using this fuel by the turn of the year.

The core of unit 5 at the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been fully loaded with VVER-1000 fuel produced by Westinghouse, operator Energoatom announced yesterday. In July 2018, unit 3 of the South Ukraine plant became the first VVER-1000 reactor anywhere to operate with a full core of fuel not supplied by Russia.

Energoatom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation with the World  Association of Nuclear Operators' Paris Centre for all its future peer reviews, starting in 2022. The Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator is currently a member of WANO’s Moscow Centre.

Holtec International has announced completion of the pre-commissioning programme, or 'cold tests', for the Chernobyl Interim Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in Ukraine. It is the world's largest dry storage installation.

Ukraine's Energoatom and Westinghouse of the USA have signed a preliminary agreement for Westinghouse to manufacture fuel for VVER-440 reactors in the country. Ukraine has two VVER-440s - units 1 and 2 of the Rovno nuclear power plant.

Energoatom and Cameco have signed a memorandum of cooperation and understanding as part of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator's strategy to diversify its nuclear fuel supply. The document was signed yesterday at the uranium producer's headquarters in Saskatoon, Canada.

Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator Energoatom last week completed functional testing of Holtec International's HI-TRAC and HI-STAR 190 containers at unit 3 of the Rovno nuclear power plant during the VVER-1000 reactor's scheduled maintenance outage.