The US nuclear industry remains significantly dependent on Russia for low-enriched uranium (LEU), which is used as fuel for commercial power reactors that produce about a fifth of the country’s electricity.
US nuclear reactor operators purchased about 3.28 million separative work units (SWU) of LEU enrichment services from Russia in 2025, accounting for nearly 26% of total procurement, according to data released on 29 July by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ten years ago this figure was 17%.
In total, foreign sources provided 77% of LEU enrichment services purchased by US operators in 2025 and Russia remains the largest single supplier.
Russia supplies the US with LEU and enrichment services rather than raw, unenriched uranium.
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