Not just nuclear power: how Rosatom fuels Russia’s war machine

Sanctions are a big factor in how many Ukrainians Moscow can kill and how much soil it can capture. But there’s one entity that has largely managed to avoid sanctions, especially from European nations: the state nuclear giant Rosatom.

Rosatom is more than the company that runs all nuclear facilities in Russia (and occupied Ukrainian territories), manages Russia’s nuclear arsenal, and supplies 44% of global uranium enrichment capabilities. 

For one, it also helps Russia develop conventional weapons and war materiel, often working with sanctioned firms to do so.

Rosatom’s many subsidiaries and affiliates have a hand in everything from missile launchers and warheads, to cluster munitions, armor, engines, electronics, strategic materials, software solutions, and more.

Rosatom imports sensitive and dual use components to Russia, helping get around sanctions. And it helps the Kremlin persecute people on occupied land. 

The corporation is also a potent arm of Russia’s foreign influence, with great lobbying power. Economist Elina Ribakova called it “geopolitical power on steroids.” 

Countries that rely on Rosatom for nuclear fuel, licenses, and services, have a lot to lose until they can wean themselves off and they cannot do it quickly. For this reason, the EU’s stated intentions to stop using Russian uranium have run into practical and political obstacles and the EU’s 20 sanctions packages have mostly left Rosatom alone. 

“It's an elephant in the room because everyone in among Western countries, EU and US, are afraid to touch the nuclear topic,” said Olena Pavlenko, president of Ukrainian think tank DiXi Group. 

Conventional weapons

Rosatom’s role in taking care of Russia’s nuclear weapons is well-known, but the company has a much broader remit in the military space. Director General Alexei Likhachev told Russia’s parliament in 2024: “We are proactively developing samples of non-nuclear weapons and military equipment. Some of them have already been put into serial production and are being used in the zone of the special military operation.”

One of Rosatom’s bodies, the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, has been making weapons since the 1980s, according to its archived website. The center works with research institutes and design bureaus to cover the full weapon production cycle: from theory and design through serial production.