"We have stood up inside of DoE [Department of Energy] under Dr. [Katy] Huff a tiger team to develop a [...] uranium strategy. We want to make sure that we are able to supply both HALEU [high-assay low-enriched uranium] as well as low-enriched uranium to our civilian nuclear fleet. And if we move away from Russia right away, we want to make sure we have the ability to continue to keep the fleet afloat," Granholm told a Senate hearing.
Uranium imports from Russia have so far been spared sanctions, unlike oil and gas, whose imports were banned by US President Joe Biden following the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help in defending themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. In response, Western nations have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign.