US technologies at ZNPP largely concern Westinghouse-supplied nuclear fuel, a used fuel dry storage facility built by Holtec and software related to operation of the six units, none of which is of any interest to Rosatom, according to the large number of Russian scientists and nuclear experts who commented on the DOE letter.

Rosatom said that the design met "all post-Fukushima safety requirements for the modern NPP design - this is a compact modular nuclear power plant, featuring reduced construction time compared with large nuclear power plants".

Russia has taken control of other energy assets owned by Western investors since the war started.

Brent were down by 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $80.97 a barrel, WTI slid 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.28 a barrel.

It is the first new thermonuclear plant to be built in Russia in the last 20 years. The facility supports the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in France.

Bangladesh is to make its payments to Russia for the Rooppur nuclear power plant construction in Chinese yuan as a result of sanctions stopping payments in US dollars.

Annual inflation in Russia slowed to 3.51% in March 2023 from 10.99% in February, reaching its lowest level since July 2020.

Brent climbed 34 cents, or 0.39%, to $86.43 per barrel, WTI rose 40 cents, or 0.49%, to $82.56.

Urals, Russia’s main crude export blend, has traded at a significant discount to the Brent benchmark since the European Union banned almost all seaborne imports of oil and petroleum products from the country, and the Group of Seven industrialized nations imposed a price cap.

Hungary has said it intends to press ahead with its plans for a new Russian-built nuclear power plant at Paks II, despite the Russian war with Ukraine and the European Union (EU) imposition of a range of sanctions against Russia.