Support of Ukrainian Atomic Workers
A key project for us in 2022 was support of Ukrainian Atomic Workers and Ukraine in general. This was precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the devastation that it caused in that country and the negative impact on nuclear power operations there.
Ukraine has a large nuclear power program, ranking 7th in the world in 2020. It operates the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which was overtaken by Russia early in the war and has been the subject of much concern, as Russia has conducted military operations around the plant.
In August, UxC dedicated its Atomic Runners 5K run to support for Ukraine. A virtual event, it attracted runners from eight countries. UxC was able to double its previous contributions to Ukraine and the atomic workers there. The specific causes to which we contributed were the ANS-ENS Ukrainian Nuclear Workers Humanitarian Fund and RAZOM (Together). In addition, companies who participated in the event also contributed directly to Ukrainian causes.
UxC Executive Vice President, Policy, Anya Bryndza is shown with the Atomic Runners T-shirt, which were distributed to the runners. Anya, who is from Ukraine, oversees our annual Atomic Runners event.
This support is very much in keeping with the objectives of our atompeace.org website. Creating nuclear-generated electricity is the primary peaceful application of the atom, and the fact that this could continue to be done during a war is a tribute to the atomic workers in Ukraine.
UxC also supported Ukrainian atomic workers with in-kind contributions via our reports and analyses as well. We are continuing this effort in 2023 and will pursue it beyond the end of the war, as Ukraine must be rebuilt.