Russian regulator Rostechnadzor has verified load following mode at unit 1 of the Novovoronezh II plant - Russia's first VVER-1200 reactor.

Russia's Rosatom has completed hydrostatic testing of the catch basin of Leningrad II-2’s evaporative cooling tower. At 167 metres high, it is one of the tallest industrial facilities in the Leningrad region, Rosatom said.

Rosatom subsidiary FSUE Atomflot and shipbuilder Zvezda LLC have signed a contract on the construction of the Leader nuclear icebreaker. Part of Project 10510 and the first LC-110 icebreaker to be built, Leader will be capable of breaking through ice more than 4.5 metres thick.

Russian State Expert Examination Board (Glavgosexpertiza) has approved plans to build the infrastructure needed to support the floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) Akademik Lomonosov in the city of Pevek, which is in Russia's Chukotka region. The plant, which comprises two 35-megawatt KLT-40C reactors, started commercial operation in December last year.

Rosatom has for the first time used a new device that it says performs all types of non-destructive testing automatically and without the use of a polar crane and a reloading machine. The Kalinin plant is just over 200 miles north-west of Moscow, in the Tver region of Russia.

Rosatom plans to resume normal working by the end of this month and sees no need to change the schedule of its new-build projects overseas, Director General Alexey Likhachov said in a video-address to the state nuclear corporation's employees.

Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant has signed a 10-year contract with the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority for the supply of low-enriched nuclear fuel components, such as uranium and aluminium items, for the ETRR-2 research reactor. NCCP is a subsidiary of Russian nuclear fuel manufacturer TVEL.
 

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related government responses could disrupt or delay construction, testing, supervisory and support activities at the Vogtle 3 and 4 construction project, but it is too early to say what those effects will be, Southern Company has told the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Russia's Rosatom is looking into the possibility of returning part of the Russian personnel from overseas nuclear power plant construction sites.

Russian nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has extended the operating licence for unit 3 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Sverdlovsk district by a further five years. The licence for the BN-600 fast reactor, which began operating in 1981, was due to expire this year.

Russia's Ministry for Economic Development last week published a draft strategy for low-carbon development to 2050. The strategy's basic scenario would see nuclear output grow from 203 TWh in 2017 to 225 TWh in 2030 and 260 TWh in 2050.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosatom has introduced additional measures to protect the health of workers at both its operating nuclear power plants and those it is constructing around the world. In a statement, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachov said the Russian state nuclear corporation has developed additional contingency plans for various scenarios of the coronavirus pandemic.

A number of documents have been signed between Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the government of Bangladesh that will enhance existing bilateral cooperation in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Russia is currently constructing a two-unit nuclear power plant at Rooppur, Bangladesh.