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The Ignalina plant: built on the same model as the Chernobyl reactor, which saw the worst nuclear disaster in history (Photo: Wikipedia)

Lithuania nuclear shutdown to test EU-Russia relations

One of Russia's fiercest critics in the EU, Lithuania, will at the turn of the New Year switch off a nuclear power station, in a move set to test the theory that Russia uses energy as a political weapon.

The shutdown of the Ignalina plant - at 11pm local time on 31 December - is being carried out in line with Lithuania's EU accession promise following concerns that its Chernobyl-type reactor is unsafe.

The small, post-Soviet country is building a new reactor expected to go online ...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

The Ignalina plant: built on the same model as the Chernobyl reactor, which saw the worst nuclear disaster in history (Photo: Wikipedia)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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