CND Press Roundup Friday 25th March 2022
Posted: 29th March 2022
War in Ukraine
NATO leaders met in Brussels yesterday to discuss support for Ukraine, with the bloc extending the tenure of general secretary Jens Stoltenberg by another year. Stoltenberg called on Vladimir Putin to stop the “nuclear sabre-rattling” and warned that Russia would not win a nuclear confrontation.
Meanwhile, the US has a ‘Tiger Team’ ready to strike back at Russia in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack. Made up of national security advisers, the group has been running scenarios several times a week on how the US and NATO would respond to Russia expanding the conflict into NATO territory or attacking NATO weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
MIT Technology Review has an interview with a Ukrainian radiation expert on the current nuclear risk in the country. Vadim Chumak, who works at the National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine in Kyiv, said the two biggest nuclear risks in the country remain at the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants.
Quoting Ukraine’s nuclear regulation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Russian forces shelled checkpoints at a town near the Chernobyl nuclear plant, where many staff live. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the action put workers at risk and would prevent the further rotation of personnel to and from the site.
Trident
TFL’s admission that it was wrong to deny CND advertising space on its network was picked up by the Morning Star.
The Westmorland Gazette covers recent nuclear convoys between Burghfield and Faslane with a quote from South Lakeland CND chair Philip Gilligan: “Seeing them carrying their lethal cargoes in amongst the everyday motorway traffic – ambulances, school buses, commuters, holidaymakers and HGVs – is frightening enough, but it is even more terrifying to reflect on the fact that these convoys are sometimes passing only a few hundred metres from ordinary homes, primary schools and hospitals. We need them off all our roads.”
Boris Johnson will meet with veterans of British nuclear weapons testing, after a call made by Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey during Prime Minister’s Questions. It follows a report in the Mirror earlier this week which uncovered that the true number of personnel exposed to harmful radiation was 2,314 – rather than 159. The report also found that those who worked in UK nuclear weapons testing were 3.5 times more likely to die from leukaemia.
North Korea
North Korea has confirmed that it conducted its first ballistic missile test in five years. Pictures released by North Korean media shows leader Kim Jong-un overseeing the launch, with a statement from Kim saying it would make the “whole world clearly aware” of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.
Reuters has some analysis on the North Korean launch and mentions that the Hwasong-17 missile tested on Thursday may be too big to make operational sense. Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told the agency: “There’s a reason that no other country has ever decided to deploy a liquid-fuelled missile that’s this big on a road-mobile launcher: it’s unsafe and operationally unwieldy… a silo, which might make more sense for a missile this size, would be strategically worse for the North Koreans given its vulnerability to prompt preemption.”
Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia editor at the Times, argues that the recent launch shows that Kim Jong-un is ready to talk: “The fact that he is increasing the pressure slowly and steadily is cause for optimism, in a way: he wants to talk and to negotiate, although from a strong position.”
Iran Nuclear Deal
Iran says an agreement on a new nuclear deal is closer than ever, if “the US acts pragmatically.” It comes as security sources quoted in the Telegraph say Tehran is using the deal to help Russia evade sanctions.
UK Nuclear Energy
Tory MP for Copeland Trudy Harrison said she’s “hellbent” on bringing a nuclear power station in her region, following a meeting with Boris Johnson on how the UK can improve its energy security. Harrison also met with Rolls Royce bosses who are hoping to build a mini-nuclear power station in Copeland.
Member of the Scottish Parliament Edward Mountain has called for the Highlands to be at the top of the list when it comes to new nuclear power development. The Tory MSP said the Scottish government needed to reverse its opposition to nuclear power arguing that the “horrendous situation in Ukraine has underlined the importance of maintaining good domestic energy security – and nuclear plays an important part in that.”
With best wishes,
Pádraig McCarrick
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament