KIEV, June 9 - The government has approved a project for building a centralized storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from VVER power units of domestic nuclear power plants for a total of UAH 37.217 billion, designed for 16.5 years and including 15 launching complexes, in the Chernobyl zone.

"Ukraine has taken a significant step forward in creating the first own nuclear facility during its independence, the operation of which will allow changing the existing scheme of treatment for spent nuclear fuel from domestic nuclear power plants and getting rid of dependence on services of Russian enterprises for temporary storage, thereby strengthening Ukraine's energy security," the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry said.