Russia's war on Ukraine has influenced Belgium's decision to keep its nuclear power plants operational.

The new government of Belgium has announced that it will repeal the law established in 2003, which mandated the cessation of electricity production in the country at nuclear power plants by 2025.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever, in his first address to parliament, promised to "put an end to this outdated law."

The new ruling coalition of five parties, presented on Monday, is the result of seven months of negotiations. The coalition leans conservative, and De Wever himself is considered a Flemish nationalist.

The preservation of nuclear generation has become one of the points in the coalition agreement that the new government will seek to implement.

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Belgium had two operational nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 2 GW.

Amid the energy crisis triggered by the war, the former Belgian government extended the closure deadlines for nuclear power plants by 10 years.

However, the new government that has come to power has decided to increase the capacity of nuclear power plants to 4 gigawatts, which will require the construction of new reactors.

Background. It is worth noting that earlier “Energoatom” reported that the power units planned for completion at the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant will operate on American fuel.