US Senate building. File photoWASHINGTON, Mar 18 U.S. Republican Senators on Thursday introduced a bill to ban imports of uranium from Russia into the country in connection with events in Ukraine, one of the authors of the document said in a widespread statement — Member of the Senate from Wyoming, John Barrasso.
"The time has come to permanently exclude all Russian energy resources from the American market. We know that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin is using this money to fund his brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine. The ban on the import of Russian oil, gas and coal is an important step, but it cannot be the last", Barrasso said.
The Republican noted that the ban on the import of Russian uranium, in his opinion, would not only deprive Russia of the funds necessary for the conduct of hostilities, but also give an incentive to the development of uranium production in the United States. This bill was supported by Barrasso's colleagues: Republicans Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming), Roger Marshal (Kansas) and Kevin Kramer (North Dakota). As Lummis noted, her state has «more than enough uranium reserves to fill the shortfall in the US market» after the introduction of a ban on imports of this resource from Russia. «In addition, we can mine uranium in a much safer and environmentally friendly way,» — emphasized the congresswoman, whose words are also quoted in the statement.Ukraine divided the West Last week, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States was banning imports of Russian oil and other energy products. The move further exacerbated the current situation with oil prices, which have been rising over the past few weeks and exceeded $100 per barrel. While Washington is trying to force a change in Russian policy with economic sanctions, people in the US have felt the consequences on their wallets — the retail price of gasoline hit an all-time high of more than $4.17 a gallon on March 8. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» To this end, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine» bloody crimes against civilians» of Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive, but there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the Russian president emphasized. Will US LNG replace Russian gas?