Context: Lithuania is considering a return to nuclear power. In an interview with the Lithuanian media outlet LRT published on July 13, 2026, Linas Baužys, Director General of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, said that the country could build new-generation nuclear reactors — small modular reactors — as early as 2040–2045. He believes that solar and wind power plants alone will not be enough over time, so Lithuania will need a stable source of electricity. At the same time, Baužys emphasized that this is merely his expert assessment for now and not an official decision by the authorities. The country is continuing to decommission the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant and awaiting the European Parliament’s allocation of hundreds of millions of euros for the next phase.
On July 14, 2026, Latvian vlogger and political analyst Solomon Bernstein stated on the First National Channel of Belarusian Radio that Lithuania is still receiving money from the decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant because it is allegedly selling the plant’s equipment.
“Lithuania still derives 5% of its foreign sales from trade in boilers and equipment for the nuclear energy sector. <…> They are actually selling equipment from Ignalina. And if they found a market for nuclear fuel, they would sell that too,” Bernstein said.
Indeed, Lithuania’s trade statistics include a product group called “Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers.” It accounts for about 5% of Lithuanian exports. However, this does not mean that Lithuania is selling equipment from the decommissioned nuclear power plant. This group includes many different products, such as nuclear reactors, conventional steam boilers, home radiators, engines, turbines, washing machines, and weaving machines. This is essentially a broad category of equipment and machinery.
When we look at what Lithuania exports in this category, computers and servers are in first place at $322 million. Following that are air conditioners, refrigerators, aircraft turbines, and filters for purifying liquids and gases. Lower on the list are printers, agricultural machinery, cranes, pumps, and compressors.
There is a separate commodity code for nuclear reactors — 8401. According to Lithuanian statistics, sales for this item amounted to zero dollars. In other words, there are no such shipments.
Solomon Bernstein cited a broad product group as evidence that Lithuania is selling off equipment from the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. But the data tells a different story. The 5% export figure refers largely to computers, refrigeration units, air-conditioning systems, and other types of machinery — not to nuclear reactors or equipment from the closed Ignalina plant.
