According to [1], fully enriched and fabricated uranium fuel is approx $2770/kg, or about $0.0077/kWh. The average heat rate for natural gas is something like

According to [1], fully enriched and fabricated uranium fuel is approx $2770/kg, or about $0.0077/kWh. The average heat rate for natural gas is something like 7732BTU/kWh, or 44% efficient[2]. The cost of natural gas around Sep 2019, before this whole mess, was $2.56/MMBtu[3]. That comes out to $0.02/kWh, 2.5x per kWh than nuclear. At current price levels of $8.81/MMBtu, that comes to $0.068/kWh, or 8.8x per kWh than nuclear. Not even considering how nuclear fuel can be stored and stockpiled much more effectively than gas, the benefit to Russia of using gas is much much higher than using nuclear. [1]: http://www.energybc.ca/cache/nuclear/nuclear2/www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf02.html http://www.energybc.ca/cache/nuclear/nuclear2/www.world-nucl... [2]: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=667&t=3 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=667&t=3 [3]: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm