Ukraine to up uranium output

KIEV, Ukraine, April 22 (UPI) -- Ukraine's president said Thursday the Eastern European country intends to mine more uranium and build a plant to turn it into nuclear fuel.

"We have plans to resume uranium production at our deposits and we must build a plant for [nuclear] fuel production," President Viktor Yanukovych said.

Yanukovych said Ukraine will assume control of 50 percent of the Ukrainian uranium market, RIA Novosti said. Russia now holds all of it, the Russian news agency said.

He also said negotiations with Russia to provide nearly 100 percent of the financing for construction of two power units at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant were nearing completion.