Fake: Ukraine Seeks to Buy Uranium from Niger to Develop Nuclear Weapons

This claim, made by propagandists citing African media, is false – mainly because Defence Minister Rustem Umerov did not visit Niger in November 2023. Moreover, by the end of 2024, the French company Orano had lost control of uranium mining in Niger, and the country’s main uranium buyers are now Russia and China.

Russian media and social media users have circulated reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is allegedly planning to buy uranium from Niger to develop nuclear weapons. According to the propaganda narrative, a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Umerov allegedly visited Niger in November 2023 to sign a uranium purchase agreement with the French mining company Orano.

This disinformation has been spread by the African media, but it lacks any factual support. Here’s why:

1. No such visit – In November 2023, Rustem Umerov did not travel to Africa, making the signing of uranium-related agreements impossible.
2. Orano lost its licence – Following political changes in Niger, French nuclear fuel producer Orano lost its licence to mine uranium in the country. Niger has since reassessed its relationship with France, and its main uranium buyers now include Russia, Iran and China.
3. Ukraine has no nuclear weapons programme – Ukraine is not developing nuclear weapons, a fact regularly confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Olha Kasharna, an expert in nuclear energy, told Hromadske that developing nuclear weapons is virtually impossible for Ukraine under current conditions – the country lacks the money, the time and the necessary technologies, which cannot simply be bought.
   
   “There are inspectors who monitor the quantity, inventory and control of nuclear materials, including in nuclear power plants. These inventories are tracked down to tenths of a gram,” the expert said.
   
   Such claims have been repeatedly denied by both the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and President Zelenskyy.

StopFake has also exposed other nuclear-related lies in the past, including Fake: Ukraine Plans to Make Bomb from Nuclear Waste and Fake: UK Transfer of Uranium Shells  to Ukraine is “Nuclear Escalation and a New Outbreak of Aggression”.