According to an IAEA report, on 29 September 2014 Kazakhstan removed fresh HEU fuel of the VVR-K critical assembly to Russia. The shipment included 10.2 kg of uranium. The fuel was transported by air and appears to have been taken to the NPO Luch in Russia. The project is part of the U.S. Global Threat Reduction Initiative.

The VVR-K critical assembly is associated with the VVR-K research reactor, operated by the Institute of Nuclear Physics, near Almaty. The reactor is using 36% HEU fuel and is currently undergoing conversion to LEU. The critical assembly was converted to LEU in 2012.