CND Press Roundup Tuesday 19th July 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Vladimir Putin is in Tehran for talks with Turkey and Iran on the war in Ukraine, lifting the Ukrainian grain blockade, Syria, and the Iran nuclear deal. Turkey, which has a special responsibility under the 1936 Montreux convention for naval traffic entering the Black Sea, is proposing that Ukrainian grain be allowed to leave the port of Odessa, so long as checks for arms are allowed to be made on the vessels.

• Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang has suggested that North Korean labourers could be used to rebuild the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine now under Russian control. The move would be an open challenge against UN sanctions slapped on North Korea over its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes – which was supposed to see North Korean workers repatriated by 2019. However, significant numbers are reported to remain in Russia, China, Laos, and Vietnam. A rather surreal Vice documentary from 2011 follows the search for North Korean labourers working in Siberia and can be watched here.

• The Morning Star covers the story of Boris Johnson skipping a COBRA meeting dealing with the heat wave emergency in order to attend the Farnborough air show. Labour accused the PM of “clocking off” in the final weeks of his premiership while Symon Hill of the Peace Pledge Union accused him of spending time with friends in the arms industry: “On what is set to be the hottest ever day in the UK, the Prime Minister has chosen to support his mates in arms companies rather than address an emergency affecting the everyday lives of people in the UK and around the world.”

• Frank Boulton from MedAct has an article in Medicine, Conflict, Survival on the consequences of nuclear war and the lessons we can learn from the conflict in Ukraine.

• Simon Tisdall has another pro-intervention column in the Guardian arguing that to do so would not be escalatory: “As previously argued here, direct, targeted, forceful western action to repulse Russia’s repulsive horde is not a vote for a third world war. It’s the only feasible way to bring this escalating horror to a swift conclusion while ensuring Putin, and those who might emulate him, do not profit from lawless butchery. Intent on inflicting maximum disruption, Putin openly menaces the heartlands of European democracy. The writing is on the wall and may no longer be ignored. Enough of the half-measures and the dithering! Nato should act now to force Putin’s marauding troops back inside Russia’s recognised borders.”

Trident

• The HMS Vanguard Trident nuclear submarine has returned to Royal Navy service after a seven year deep maintenance period. Vanguard entered a ‘Long Overhaul Period and Refuel’ period in December 2015, after it was discovered in 2012 that radiation had leaked was detected in the vessel’s PWR2 reactor’s coolant water, caused by a microscopic breach in fuel cladding. The work was supposed to take 3.5 years at a cost of £200 – but UK Defence Journal notes that the 7 year stay is more likely to cost £75 million a year, which would push the overall bill to over £500 million.

AUKUS / Indo-Pacific

• This article looks at the significance of the recent stalking of an Australian warship by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, a nuclear-powered attack submarine and multiple military aircraft as it travelled through the East China Sea – the latest in a series of incidents between the pair.

Global Abolition / TPNW

• The Lancet has an article on why the prohibition of nuclear weapons should be treated as a public health priority. In its summary, the authors note: “The long-term damage to the health of the population and the environment could easily be beyond the resilience, not only of individual countries or territories, but of the entire world. As long as these weapons of mass destruction exist, humanity’s survival is under threat.” They subsequently call on governments to sign up and ratify the TPNW.

• Global Zero has a report on the ‘Real cost of ICBMs’ and explores possible paths for replacing their economic impact.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Campaigners opposed to the Sizewell C nuclear power plant have called on a planning decision on the project to be postponed until a new Tory party leader is selected to replace Boris Johnson. Alison Downes, spokesperson for Stop Sizewell C told the East Anglian Daily Times: “Stop Sizewell C has urged Ministers to delay the planning decision and any Government Investment Decision before a new Prime Minister is in place. The preoccupation among leadership candidates with tax cuts and scrapping ‘green’ levies on bills is inconsistent with Sizewell C, which would require a nuclear tax on consumers to help meet financing costs during construction, and where build costs, risk and timeframes are both high and difficult to accurately predict.”

• The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy has announced a £75 million Nuclear Fuel Fund – which will give grants to “preserve the UK front-end nuclear fuel cycle capability.” The department is soliciting feedback from industry, academia, customers, etc through a Request for Information about how the fund could be best implemented.

• Campaigners will host an event in Caernarfon on Saturday to coordinate opposition to plans for new nuclear power stations at Wylfa on Anglesey and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd. The conference, titled ‘A United Welsh Front against Nuclear Power’, has been convened by a coalition of Welsh campaign groups, CADNO (Cymdeithas Atal Dinistr Niwclear Oesol), CND Cymru (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Wales), Cymdeithas Yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society), PAWB (People against Wylfa-B), and WANA (the Welsh Anti-Nuclear Alliance), in partnership with British and international partners, the Nuclear Free Local Authorities and Beyond Nuclear. Campaigners will first meet in Caernarfon Square at 10am to march to the conference venue at the Llety Arall community-owned centre at 9, Palace Street for a 10.30am start.

Nuclear Energy

• France’s full takeover of indebted nuclear firm EDF is expected to cost the state nearly £8.5 billion.

• Counterpunch has a republished article on why nuclear power isn’t the answer to climate change. Kim Friedman, coordinator of West River Valley 100% Renewable writes: “Contrary to public perception, nuclear power is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions when considering the amount of fossil fuels required for mining, uranium enrichment, building and decommissioning of power plants, and processing and storing radioactive waste. In fact, nuclear power emits twice as much carbon as solar photovoltaics and six times as much as onshore wind power, according to the nonprofit organization Beyond Nuclear.”

• The Guardian looks at the debate within the German government on returning to nuclear energy in order to counter dwindling gas reserves. The coalition of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP all have differing opinions on how to ensure the lights remain on this winter while also keeping to its climate targets. While talk of keeping the country’s three remaining nuclear plants open – enough to heat 3 million homes – remains speculative, it has forced even the Green Party into a rethink: “The Greens’ co-leader, Ricarda Lang, said on Sunday that it was not the right time to think of prolonging the life of the plants, but she said that owing to the energy crisis and the impact it was having on lower-income families, her party had to be ready to consider all options.”

CND

• The latest issue of Christian CND’s magazine, Ploughshare is out now and available to read online.

North Korea

• US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told Reuters that a North Korean nuclear test would be a very provocative move. While not going into specifics about Washington’s response, she indicated that more sanctions could be implemented. Yellen is currently on her first tour of the region in the role, meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and other senior officials in Seoul.

Nuclear Japan

• Japan Times looks at the debate in Japan over nuclear deterrence and Tokyo’s balancing act between its commitment to discussions on a nuclear weapons-free world, and its role in the US security network in Asia.