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Even as Russia was threatening to invade Ukraine, majority French government owned Orano was sending equipment to Russia to build a nuclear facility for Russian government owned Rosatom. It’s unclear what impact, if any, sanctions have had on this 40 million euro-$44 million French construction project in Russia. Based on Orano’s nasty letter to Greenpeace, and Macron and Putin’s chatting, the project is probably still ongoing. This project was agreed well after Russia first invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Do Macron and Putin discuss how to evade sanctions for this project? While there are apparently still no sanctions on Rosatom, per se, there may be sanctions on relevant equipment and technology.

“In early November 2021, reports of Russian military buildups prompted American officials to warn its European allies that Russia could be considering a potential invasion of Ukraine… The Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR MOU) estimated that the figure had risen to 90,000 by 2 November, composing of forces from the 8th and 20th Guards, and the 4th and 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army. On 13 November 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Russia had again amassed 100,000 troops near the Russo-Ukrainian border, higher than an American assessment of approximately 70,000.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_to_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

Orano is majority French government owned. TVEL is a subsidiary of Russian government owned Rosatom: “TVEL belongs to the Atomenergoprom holding company (part of Rosatom)” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVEL

“France’s Orano will supply a second depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) defluorination plant to TVEL’s JSC Electrochemical Plant (ECP) in Zelenogorsk in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region under a EUR40 million (USD44 million) contract awarded by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The first facility has been in operation at the site for ten years.” https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Orano-to-supply-second-Russian-deconversion-facili

As in Soviet Times, France Caught Sending Nuclear Waste to Russia (Siberia), But Russia’s Sent Waste to France, as well

“Equipment for deconversion arrives at Zheleznogorsk
23 December 2021 by https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
The first equipment has arrived at a deconversion plant being built by Russia’s Rosatom and France’s Orano in eastern Siberia….

The facility, called W2-EHZ, is sited at the Electrochemical Plant in Zheleznogorsk, which is owned by Rosatom’s fuel subsidiary TVEL.

TVEL announced that first 16 trucks of equipment from France have arrived at the site with kit for power supply, instrumentation, ventilation and process pipelines. Further equipment will arrive during the first half of 2022, when installation will begin in a joint effort by Rosatom and Orano Projets, the engineering arm of France’s nuclear fuel cycle specialist Orano. In the meantime, TVEL said it is pouring concrete for the facility’s foundation slab.

In 2023, when the plant is slated for operation, it will accept deliveries of depleted uranium hexafluoride gas and deconvert these to uranium tetrafluoride, with anhydrous hydrofluoric acid being produced as a by-product. Deconversion transforms the toxic and somewhat corrosive gaseous DUF6 enrichment tailings into a stable powdered oxide form fit for long-term storage, transport or final disposal.

“In this form,” TVEL said, “depleted uranium can be stored in containers in open areas for a long time without any environmental risk and is completely safe for transportation.” TVEL also said it wants to use the hydrofluoric acid to manufacture fluorides used in the electrolytes of lithium-ion batteries, among other things.

Although depleted uranium is seen as a leftover material from the enrichment of uranium, TVEL noted that it is a “valuable raw material” for the future creation of mixed-oxide (MOX) uranium-plutonium fuel for fast reactors. The BN-800 fast reactor at Beloyarsk is gradually switching to MOX and the BREST-OD-300 reactor under construction at Seversk requires uranium-plutonium nitride fuel (known as SNUP).

The new W2-EHZ plant represents an expansion on deconversion work at the existing W-EHZ plant, which Rosatom said has so far processed more than 100,000 tons of uranium hexafluoride. With a joint capacity of 20,000 tons per year they will be able to “stop the growth” of depleted uranium hexafluoride stocks in Russia, said TVEL.

Rosatom’s long term plan is then to increase its deconversion capacity with a third plant, W3-EHZ, and progressively deal with all the depleted uranium hexafluoride that has accumulated at TVEL sites. Achievement of this goal is slated for 2057.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News” https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Equipment-for-deconversion-arrives-at-Zheleznogors

“Orano to supply second Russian deconversion facility
11 December 2019 by https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
France’s Orano will supply a second depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) defluorination plant to TVEL’s JSC Electrochemical Plant (ECP) in Zelenogorsk in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region under a EUR40 million (USD44 million) contract awarded by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The first facility has been in operation at the site for ten years.

The contract was signed by Sergey Filimonov, director general of ECP, and Cedric Barba, vice-president for nuclear fuel cycle front end business operations at Orano Projects. Under the terms of the contract, Orano will supply the equipment for the construction of the deconversion facility, as well as providing technical assistance in its installation and commissioning. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

The plant will deconvert DUF6 – the so-called tails left behind after uranium enrichment – into uranium tetrafluoride, with anhydrous hydrofluoric acid being produced as a by-product. Deconversion transforms the toxic and somewhat corrosive gaseous DUF6 enrichment tailings into a stable powdered oxide form fit for long-term storage, transport or final disposal. The resulting DUF6 will be used, together with plutonium oxide, in the production of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for the BN-800 fast neutron reactor at Beloyarsk (unit 4), which entered commercial operation in October 2016.

ECP’s Zelenogorsk site is home to Russia’s only uranium deconversion plant, which was supplied by Orano under a contract signed in 2005. The capacity of the W-ECP deconversion plant, commissioned in December 2009, was increased from 5000 tonnes per year to 10,000 tonnes per year in 2011. The new facility – to be known as ‘W2-ECP’ – will double the deconversion capacity at the plant to 20,000 tonnes per year….”
Researched and written by World Nuclear News https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Orano-to-supply-second-Russian-deconversion-facili

“Areva S.A. became wholly state-owned by the French government, remaining responsible only for the liabilities related to the Olkiluoto 3 project in Finland and holding a 40% stake in Orano”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areva
Orano owernship: “Government of France (45.2%), CEA (4.8%), Areva SA (40%), JNFL (5%), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (5%) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orano

“France: Putin Has ‘Reconsidered’ His Demand for IAEA Inspectors”
August 19, 2022 10:09 PM UPDATE August 20, 2022 6:09 AM VOA News https://www.voanews.com/a/putin-to-allow-inspectors-to-visit-russia-occupied-nuclear-plant-/6709533.html

Majority French state owned Orano sent a nasty letter to Greenpeace denying that their business with Russian government owned Rosatom-Tenex nuclear is related to the topic Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “With regard more particularly to the Rosatom group, you are aware that Orano has historically maintained commercial relations with Tenex, like all of the world’s nuclear players. These marginal activities, both for Orano and for Tenex, have no connection whatsoever with the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine.” This statement ignores the entire moral basis of sanctions against oil and gas, etc. If it’s so marginal then why don’t they cancel it? Orano even denies that Rosatom being at Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Station has anything to do with their business deals. This sort of nasty hypocrisy has been typical in France for decades. During the run up to the first Gulf War (1990), while France was sending its young men to do their obligatory year of military service fighting in Iraq, French companies were still selling weapons to Saddam. Orano’s apparent lawyer Yann Guilbaud (“Directeur Juridique Groupe”) has the unmitigated gall to say that Greenpeace isn’t serious (a typical French tactic meant to bully the adversary into submission and normally accompanied with arm-flailing) when, in fact, it’s France-Orano who “aren’t serious” about sanctions or anything but two-faced hypocrisy and greed, as evidenced in the letter. En effet la France n’est plus un pays sérieux: https://www.orano.group/fr/actus/actualites-du-groupe/2022/juin/reponse-d-orano-a-greenpeace Yann Guilbaud worked for Veolia from 1998-2009. He was associated with France Telecom from 1991-94. https://fr.linkedin.com/in/yann-guilbaud-2b268828

France needs to swap land with Ukraine and let Ukrainians live in peace in France, and the French can move to Ukraine next to their lover Russia. Poland and Germany should also swap territories so Germany can be close to its lover Russia and Poland and Ukraine can live in peace together in former France and Germany.