Here is how nuclear fuel arrives now from Russia to Hungary

Due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, supplies from Russia travelled to us on a much longer and complicated route.

Shipments of heat source supplies normally arrive from Russia to the Paks Nuclear Power Plant 2-3 times a year. They are transported in special carriages to Paks. However, due to the on-going war trains have not been able to travel through Ukraine, therefore a plan B was needed. Iho.hu reports on this issue.

Normally, the first dispatch is in March, but this year it happened in April, when an alternative solution was finally found. That is, switching to air transportation.

The Volga-Dnepr airline flies the nuclear material from Moscow’s International Airport to the Hungarian Defence Forces’ Pápa Base Airfield, and from there it is transported to Paks by Hungarian railway. On April 5, two coaches of MÁV Rail Tours were taken to Pápa from the Hungarian Railway Museum, making it obvious that a nuclear train was being prepared.

• Read also: Did Hungary violate EU sanctions by paying for Russian gas in roubles? 

The route could be traced based on information from Facebook (for example: there are a lot of police officers at the railway stations between Pápa and Győr…), revealing a Pápa-Győrszabadhegy-Komárom-Székesfehérvár-Pusztaszabolcs-Dunaújváros-Paks route, avoiding Budapest. The following day, Péter Szijjártó announced that the first nuclear shipment from Russia since the beginning of the war had been delivered to Paks. Interestingly, the two coaches were not taken back to the Railway Museum.

We can only guess at what it was that we dispatched from Paks, perhaps just some transport containers. What may debunk this theory, however, is that there was no special surveillance and escort during the cargo’s trip to Pápa, a simple freight train was used.

Then the cargo flew to Russia.

• Read also: Is there a way for Hungary to reduce its dependency on Russian energy?

There were two journeys like this. The same Russian aircraft arrived again on April 19 to Pápa. Heavy police presence could be detected in the area and in the following days when several other carriages arrived at the town. Then on the 23^rd trains were sent from Paks back to Pápa without any extra surveillance and defence. On the 24^th, Flightradar showed the Volga-Dnepr aircraft’s journey from Pápa to Moscow. So something again had to be taken back to Moscow, except this time there was no extra safety needed.

As reported by Napi.hu, the European Parlament accepted a ruling in April about ending nuclear collaboration between Hungary and Russia, which could be the end of the Paks Nuclear Plant. However, as Szabó John of Eötvös Loránd Research Network explains:

The European Parlament’s standpoint is always radical, but compared to the European Commission and the EU Council it is of less importance, since they have a smaller influence on EU and national policies. They merely represent a dominant way, which on one hand is really needed because of their ambitious goals.

He also explains that the EP’s ruling is more about favouring renewable resources and helping to spread their application in the EU.

Read alsoHere is how nuclear fuel arrives now from Russia to Hungary

Source: Iho.hu, Napi.hu