Russia's nuclear trade with Europe flowing amid Ukraine war

While European Union agreed to curtail its use of Russian oil and gas, its member nations continue to import and export nuclear fuel that is not under EU sanctions - to chagrin of Ukrainian government and environmental activists.

A cargo ship carrying uranium that departed from French port of Dunkirk travelled North Sea on Thursday, heing toward Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga. 

It was third time in just over a month that Panama-flagged Mikhail Dudin ship docked in Dunkirk to transport uranium.

Environmental group Greenpeace France denounced ongoing shipments to and from Russia and called for stopping all tre in nuclear fuel, which it said was financing war in Ukraine, extending (Europe's) energy dependence and delaying transition to renewable energy.

EU's executive arm, European Commission, did not propose targeting Russia's nuclear sector in its latest sanctions package presented Wednesday.

France ensures strict compliance by economic players with all European sanctions opted against Russia. Civil nuclear power is not affected by se sanctions, French Foreign Affairs Ministry told Associated Press.

ministry ded in a written statement: EU member states did not consider this to be a relevant area for ending Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is pushing for European sanctions in that area.

Ukrainian president's economic viser, Oleg Ustenko, said Wednesday that in terms of uranium, we think it's extremely important to impose sanctions, not only on Russian oil."

Oil, gas, uranium and coal, all this should be banned. Because y are using this money in order to finance this war, Ustenko said.

According to Greenpeace France, reprocessed uranium meant to be transported to Russia were loed onto Mikhail Dudin on Wednesday. 

A video provided by environmental group shows a crane lifting containers onto ship.

Pauline Boyer, an energy campaigner at Greenpeace France, said in a statement that ship's repeated trips between Russia and France show extent to which French nuclear industry is trapped in its dependence on Russia.

French authorities have repeatedly said country does not depend on Russia to supply nuclear power plants that provide 67% of its electricity  more than any or nation.

value of tre in nuclear fuel exported from Russia is small compared to that of gas and oil exports, French foreign ministry said, suggesting that imposing sanctions in that area would not have much effect on Moscow.

ministry said France and European Union aim in long term to be independent from all Russian energy sources, including nuclear fuel.

Greenpeace France said a shipment of Russian uranium that an Associated Press reporter saw getting unloed in Dunkirk earlier this month was transported by trucks to a plant in Lingen, Germany.

Lingen plant is operated by Framatome, which is majority-owned by French utility giant EDF.

Faced with activists' protests, German government took a critical view toward uranium shipment but said it couldn't stop fuel from being processed because it isn't covered by EU's war-related sanctions on Russia.

At end of last month, enriched uranium unloed from Mikhail Dudin in Dunkirk was destined for Rhone valley in sourn France, which is home to major sites of French civil nuclear industry, according to Greenpeace France.

French nuclear sector has a series of contracts with Russian state-controlled energy giant Rosatom, including some to import enriched uranium destined for European nuclear power plants and to export reprocessed uranium to Russia. 

Rosatom is one of world's biggest actors in nuclear energy market.