CND Press Roundup Wednesday 13th April 2022

War in Ukraine

• Scottish CND is mentioned in this National article (behind paywall), where they warn that an escalation of the war in Ukraine further increases the nuclear threat.

• The Independent looks at the likelihood of Russia launching a nuclear attack. Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is sceptical of the impending doom: “Because any use of nuclear weapons would open up such a Pandora’s box, and the possibility of escalation to the use of more nuclear weapons once one country has used them, the pressure on other nuclear weapon states to use them in response would be very considerable…The Russians understand that and so do the west. So it’s a paradox.”

• Meanwhile, the Mirror can’t resist speculating on Vladimir Putin’s whereabouts – believed to be a massive nuclear-proof underground city that can house tens of thousands of people. Russian academic, Professor Valery Solovey, claims Putin along with his defence minister Sergei Shoigu regularly “vanish to bomb shelters east of the Urals.” He added that “Putin spends most of his time there. There are several of them, with the key one where Putin stays – able to fit up to 100,000 people.” Solovey has previously claimed that Putin is suffering from cancer and has early stage Parkinson’s Disease – without providing proof.

Trident / UK Nuclear Weapons

• Looks like Trident won’t be the only nuclear weapon present on British soil. The Guardian reports on the quiet announcement by the US Department of Defense that the UK has been added to the list of NATO nuclear weapons storage sites due for upgrade – paving the way for the return of US nukes to RAF Lakenheath after 14 years (if they’re not here already). CND were contacted for comment and said: “the ‘quiet announcement’ by the US amounted to more militarisation at a time of growing risk and would add to the risks faced by the British public. Kate Hudson, the general secretary of CND, said she feared it could lead to US warheads being redeployed in the UK. ‘Nuclear weapons don’t make us safe – they make us a target,’ she added.”

• The US plan to upgrade RAF Lakenheath was originally spotted by the Federation of American Scientists.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tuesday that talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal “are going ahead properly,” as US officials expressed concern that a deal was far from reached. “So far our negotiation team has resisted the other party’s excessive demands,” Khamenei told a meeting which included members of President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration as well as former president, Hassan Rouhani. The remarks come after talks to secure a deal in Vienna started to flounder a month ago, with the US’ lead negotiator, Rob Malley recently saying a deal is “not just around the corner and is not inevitable.”

UK Nuclear Energy

• Vince Zabielski writes to the Financial Times saying the UK government’s decision to invest in nuclear power is “good news” but “could have been great news.” On the plans to build 8 new nuclear reactors, Zabielski says that 6 advanced gas-cooled reactors are set to go offline and could have their life extended. “You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a case of eight steps forward and six steps back, with the new strategy merely returning the UK to the 25 per cent nuclear mix it enjoyed in the 1990s,” he added.

• Hartlepool’s Tory MP Jill Mortimer has said her town is at the “front of the queue” for a new nuclear reactor adding that it “would secure jobs and investment for many generations to come.” Union bosses have responded by calling for a “clear commitment” from the government adding that local workers and communities had been “left facing uncertainty at a time when the country is facing a cost-of-living crisis and our energy security is a matter of national security.”

• Nation Cymru has a good opinion piece on the UK government’s plan to build nuclear reactors and its impact on the constitutional question in Wales. But for a policy that would have such an impact on the nation’s future, why the lack of debate?

Nuclear Korea

• The Morning Star reports on the US sending nuclear-powered warships to the Korean peninsula amid predictions of an upcoming nuclear test by North Korea. US officials say Pyongyang may conduct a test to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong-un inheriting power and the 110th birthday of his grandfather and North Korean founder – Kim Il-sung.

• South Korea’s incoming administration will reverse the decision to phase out nuclear power, saying the decision had increased the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and threatened to raise energy bills. With 24 reactors, South Korea has the highest density of nuclear reactors in the world. The outgoing administration of Moon Jae-in had planned to reduce this to 17 by 2034 as older reactors went offline.

Nuclear Europe

• The French government is mulling plans to restructure nuclear energy EDF, which could see it sell its renewables arm and focus solely on nuclear power. The debt-ridden firm – 80% of which is owned by the French state – could also go under full nationalisation.

CND 

• A tribute marking the recent death of homelessness campaigner Jackie Coutts is in the Guardian, written by her daughter Angela. In addition to her work helping homeless people and asylum seekers, Jackie was “an active member of the Ecology party (1975-85), and an enthusiastic participant in CND marches and the Greenham Common protests.” Rest in power.