CND Press Roundup Thursday 21st April 2022

War in Ukraine

• Russia tested its newest nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Wednesday, in the latest ratcheting up of tensions on the side-lines of its invasion of Ukraine. The Sarmat – or Satan II in Western security circles- missile was launched from a site in Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km away. “This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

• CND is among the peace campaigners to condemn the UK’s decision to send heavy weapons to Ukraine in the form of Stormer anti-aircraft vehicles. The armoured tank-like vehicles come equipped with 17 high-velocity Starstreak missiles, which are capable of destroying enemy helicopters and aircraft. CND general Secretary Kate Hudson said: “The war has already altered the political balance in Europe and is accelerating its militarisation. This will have a profoundly negative impact on our societies, engendering a culture of violence and nationalism…More and more of the people’s money will be squandered on weapons and war, instead of being invested in health, jobs and education.”

• Workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have been speakingabout their month -long experience living under the supervision of Russian troops – three weeks after their departure.

• The Conversation has advice on how to survive a nuclear explosion in the event a so-called tactical nuclear weapon is used. In short, after finding shelter in your house you should then wash yourself for a thorough decontamination and then change your clothes. “Hopefully by now the national authorities will have stepped in for rescue and medical treatment,” it adds.

• A Russian TV presenter has claimed that the UK is priming the British public so it can attack Russia with nuclear weapons. Vladimir Solovyov said British news channels had been reporting on claims on Russian troops committing genocide and war crimes to sway public opinion against Moscow. “Britain strikes the country which is guilty of genocide, and which is upsetting poor, unhappy Zelensky…Britain, which possesses nuclear weapons, strikes us with tactical nukes,” Solovyov said. He added: “Can anyone understand what’s going on in Johnson’s head?”

Trident / UK Nuclear Weapons

• Prospect magazine has a piece from RUSI fellow Matthew Harries on the state of the UK’s nuclear policy and its capacity to hold on to its nuclear arsenal. In addition to calling the current debate on the UK’s nuclear posture “inadequate to the current moment,” Harries notes that infrastructure requirements to store nuclear weapons are behind schedule and likely to be over budget. But one of the more striking aspects is that the UK’s nuclear policy is not getting the same oversight it did in the 1980s. “Nuclear weapons are back, and this time there are more fingers on more buttons,” said Harries. He suggests that Parliament “should do its due diligence. In the 1980s, select committees routinely asked ministers and officials in depth about nuclear strategy and the nuts and bolts of the programme. They should start doing so again, integrating questions about deterrence into the majority of their discussions about defence strategy, not just treating it as a specialist topic.”

• Veterans of the UK’s nuclear test regime will be given “the recognition they deserve” under fresh pledges made by Boris Johnson. It’s the first time that a UK Prime Minister has made a commitment to award nuclear personnel with medals since the first test in 1952. Johnson made the comments after facing questions from MPs on Wednesday including Tory MP Sir John Hayes. “This is a massive step forward for the campaign which I and the Mirror, and others, have been fighting for a long time, and what is critical is that the PM has recognised this is not a matter for a committee – it is an issue of national importance, and it must be the Prime Minister personally who decides whether to ask Her Majesty the Queen to grant a medal,” Hayes said.

• The Telegraph reports on how safe Britain would be from a range of disasters such a super volcanic eruption, pandemic, or nuclear attack – with experts saying the UK falls behind other islands as a refuge from global catastrophe. Experts said the best places to regroup would be in the Pacific in places like Australia, New Zealand, or neighbouring islands, while Iceland and Ireland top the list in Europe. However, the UK’s proximity to mainland Europe would make it vulnerable to spill over to a continental conflict, compounded by a reliance on food imports.

UK Nuclear Energy

• An “instrumentation fault” at the Sizewell B nuclear reactor caused the plant to shut down automatically on Monday, according to the East Anglian Times. The reactor and two turbines were impacted by the issue, forcing nuclear firm EDF to issue a message to nearby residents: “Due to the automatic shutdown you will see and hear steam being released into the atmosphere. The steam is from clean water systems and does not present any threat to the public or the environment.”

Non-Proliferation

• A short opinion piece in the Portuguese American Journal on Portugal’s commitment to nuclear disarmament in the context of the latest nuclear tensions between Russia and NATO.

Nuclear Energy

• The Financial Times writes on Germany’s political reluctance to return to nuclear power amid an energy price crunch – and the difficulties in restarting its nuclear reactors. The case is summed up by the boss of nuclear energy provider Eon: “There is no future for nuclear in Germany — period…It is too emotional. There will be no change in legislation and opinion.”

US Nuclear

• Leaked documents from the US Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) reveal a list of madcap speculative technologies that include using nuclear explosions to bore a hole through the Moon’s crust and mantle.  

• The US Department of Energy’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory will be back online later this spring, following an 11 month overhaul of its core. Experiments conducted at the reactor include improving the efficiency of US nuclear-powered submarines and NASA space exploration.