The reactors intended for Bulgaria's unrealised second nuclear power plant project - Belene - will not be sold. This was announced to journalists by Deputy Prime Minister and BSP leader Atanas Zafirov. He said that he had discussed the fate of the two reactors with partners in the Council for Joint Governance and with GERB leader Boyko Borissov.

"We have decided that the two reactors at the Belene NPP will not be sold. The development of nuclear energy is the right way forward for the country and its people. Electricity prices are rising around the world, the world is facing continued energy insecurity, and nuclear power is a stable and predictable source. We have the site, we have the reactors, we have the experts - everything is in our hands," Zafirov said, stressing that the reactors are a key asset for Bulgaria and a crucial part of its energy independence. A parliamentary decision on the matter is now awaited.

• Vazrazhdane is against the sale of the two reactors for the Belene NPP project to Ukraine
• Ukrainian Rada authorises purchase of Bulgarian-owned Russian-built nuclear reactors

In 2023, Bulgaria began negotiations to sell the two Russian-built reactors from the Belene project to Ukraine. Ukraine's Energoatom had intended to use them to complete its Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant.