CND Press Roundup Thursday 11th August 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• G7 leaders have issued a joint statement backing the UN nuclear watchdog’s efforts to promote nuclear safety at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The statement, which can be read on the Foreign Office’s website, also called for Moscow to remove its troops from the facility – which Ukraine says has been made into a base of operations. Both sides have accused each other of shelling the facility – prompting fears of a nuclear accident.

• The Week looks at the recent fighting at Zaporizhia and asks is Ukraine heading for another Chernobyl disaster?

• RUSI has a report on its recent missile defence conference. In sum: “Participants considered how integrated deterrence against long-range precision strike might be delivered at a NATO level. Discussions were framed around the Russian long-range precision strike threat, which has supplanted other threat vectors as NATO’s pacing challenge.”

• Satellite images show the damage caused to a Russian air base in Crimea – which Russia claims was from accidental explosions. While Kiev has yet to claim the attack – it may suggest that a new long-range strike capability has been obtained from NATO allies.

Trident

• A short film produced by Scottish CND and Secure Scotland premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe on Tuesday. A Guided Tour of the Unacceptable gives viewers a historical and geographical tour of Britain’s nuclear weapons stationed along the River Clyde, with contributions from SNP MSP Bill Kidd, Green MSP Mark Ruskell, CND chair Lynn Jamieson, as well as residents of the Faslane Peace Camp.

• Steve Barwick from the Nuclear Education Trust writes in Yorkshire Bylines on the need for greater education, information, and debate about nuclear weapons. It follows recent polling from NET which found that more than half of Britons (56%) were afraid a nuclear conflict could break out within the next two years.

• Lesley Riddoch has a piece on anti-nuclear weapons campaigning in The National, although it is behind a paywall – arguing that social solidarity is stronger than any nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• Salisbury Journal covers Salisbury CND’s candle float ceremony on Monday to commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A spokesperson for the group told the Journal: “We value our links with the people of Hiroshima. Our lantern float, which mirrors the event held in Hiroshima itself each year, provides all who witness it with time and space to reflect on the importance of eliminating nuclear weapons from our world. The war in Ukraine has made the possible use of nuclear weapons far more likely, which poses unimaginable consequences for humanity worldwide.”

Nuclear Energy

• Another twist in the saga of France’s nuclear energy industry as nuclear firm EDF says it is now suing the French government for forcing it to sell electricity at a loss. EDF, which is now nationalised by the state, is seeking compo to the tune of €8.3 billion. A price cap imposed by President Emmanuel Macron in January to help tackle the cost of living crisis had forced EDF to sell electricity to its competitors at below-market rates – and could cost them a total of €15 billion this year. Incroyable!

UK Nuclear Energy

• Burnham-on-Sea has some video of the placing of the cooling system into the river near the Hinkley Point C nuclear project.