CND Press Roundup Monday 25th April 2022

War in Ukraine

• Russia will deploy its new nuclear-capable Sarmat II (Satan II) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by this autumn – following a successful test-launch of the system last Wednesday. Dmitry Rogozin, who head’s Russia’s space agency, said the missiles would be deployed with a unit in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) east of Moscow. Each missile is capable of carrying ten nuclear warheads and decoys.

• The Telegraph has a lengthy piece on the recent test-launch of Russia’s Sarmat missile, calling it the possible “first salvo in a new global nuclear arms race.” While it suggests that the use of a nuclear weapon over the Black Sea or in an isolated part of Siberia may “persuade the world to come to its senses,” it also posits that “in coming years, the belligerents might no longer just be Russia and the West. Post-Ukraine, nations everywhere will be reviewing their security spending, raising the prospect of a new global arms race.”

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended his government’s decision not to send heavy weapons to Ukraine, warning that a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia could lead to nuclear war. “I said very early on that we must do everything possible to avoid a direct military confrontation between NATO and a highly armed superpower like Russia, a nuclear power. I am doing everything to prevent an escalation leading to a third world war. There must be no nuclear war,” Scholz told Spiegel magazine.

• Meanwhile, a retired US general who previously oversaw NATO’s forces in Europe, has called on allied nations not to be cowed by Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats. General Philip Breedlove told The Times that now was the time to put boots on the ground in Ukraine. “We must respect the fact that Putin might use nukes but we shouldn’t be paralysed by it,” he said. “Would his use of tactical nukes in Ukraine be a tipping point for NATO and the EU and the world? We have nukes and I’m not being flippant. We have to take action to deter him. Otherwise Putin’s deterrence is working extremely well for him. Multiple world leaders have said we’re not going to fight the Russians in Ukraine. So they have all been deterred by Putin. But if we reward him [by doing nothing] then that will lead to more bad behaviour.” he said.

• The Guardian looks at Finland’s nuclear bunkers as the country dusts off its defence plans amid rising tensions with neighbouring Russia. “I don’t want to brag, but the Finnish bomb shelter technology is one of the best. We have been doing this for a while,” Tomi Rask, a safety instructor of Helsinki’s Civil defence centre told the paper. Finland, along with Sweden recently announced their intention to look at NATO membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – leading to threats from Moscow that it would move nuclear assets to the Baltic region.

• Ukraine has sent a “comprehensive list” of equipment it needs to operate its nuclear power facilities, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has said. The International Atomic Energy Agency said equipment needed included radiation measurement devices, protective material, computer-related assistance, power supply systems and diesel generators.

Trident

• An exclusive in The Sunday People reports that Chinese agents are using drones to spy on the UK’s nuclear bases. Freedom of Information requests made by The People found that 18 drone sightings had been made over a two year period between 2019 and 2021 – with intelligence officials laying the blame at Beijing’s door. Locations where drones have been sighted include at the Faslane naval base in Scotland and at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, Berkshire.

• The SNP’s leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, has said the UK has missed an opportunity” to reduce the stockpile of nuclear weapons, in an interview with the BBC. Speaking to Sophie Raworth on the Sunday Morning programme, Blackford said Vladimir Putin’s nuclear rhetoric over Ukraine has left everyone guessing. “You’ve got someone [Putin] that you don’t know if they’re prepared to press that button or not.There’s been a massive missed opportunity over the course of the last decades, because we should have been getting round the table with the Russians and others, and making sure that we were reducing the threat from nuclear weapons, reducing nuclear warheads,” Blackford said.

AUKUS

• The deputy leader of Australia’s opposition Labor party has accusedthe sitting government of failing to deliver on defence. Richard Merles cited the fact that Australia has had six defence ministers in nine years, and its mismanagement of its submarine procurement programme has led to a 20-year capability gap. Last September the Coalition government under Scott Morrison announced the £90 billion AUKUS defence pact with the UK and US, which includes the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines. However, the deal meant an existing £5 billion contract with France for conventional subs was scrapped and the change means Canberra will have to extend the life of its ageing Collins-class subs until the 2050s. It follows last week’s admission by the government that the true cost of the scuppered French deal won’t be known to the public until after May’s election.

Non-Proliferation

• Al Jazeera talks to ICAN’s Beatrice Fihn on the possibility of nuclear disarmament where she calls the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons a “way of creating a revolution in this nuclear structure that we created.” Watch the full interview here.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Welsh Tory MP Virginia Crosbie has called for her constituents to get cheaper energy bills as a result of a new nuclear power plant being built nearby. The government is looking at using the former nuclear site at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, as one of the locations for a new generation of nuclear reactors. Speaking in the Commons, Crosbie asked Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to back the idea saying: “The new Wylfa nuclear plant will bring local jobs for local people. Will the Minister consider discounting electricity bills for locals?”