CND Press Roundup Friday 23rd September 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Joseph Gerson of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security writes in Common Dreams, likening the nuclear tensions over the war in Ukraine to a Cuban missile crisis in slow motion.

• Simon Jenkins writes in the Guardian on how Putin’s recent round of nuclear threats shows his growing desperation over his invasion of Ukraine.

• Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has called on NATO allies to spell out how it would respond to a Russian nuclear strike on the country.

• That’s as a former US general said the US would respond with a “devastating strike” if Russia followed through on its nuclear threats.

• The outgoing Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that the global nuclear risk has hit unprecedented levels – and called on nations to fully comply with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as a matter of urgency.

• Some letters to The Times on Putin’s nuclear threats – including from Britain’s former ambassador to Russia, Sir Rodric Braithwaite: “Putin’s rhetoric about nuclear weapons looks like a crude attempt to intimidate foreigners who oppose his invasion of Ukraine (“Putin’s Provocations”, Sep 23). So far he has not strayed outside established Russian policy: to retaliate massively in response to a strategic attack, and to use nuclear weapons locally to limit a narrower threat. That is not very different from the nuclear doctrine of the Americans. Since the Russians and Americans both fear nuclear war equally, both have hitherto kept their public statements moderate. But some of Putin’s spokesmen have now broken that taboo. Backed into a corner by military failure, hotly criticised even by his most “patriotic” supporters, Putin’s own language is increasingly desperate. His talk of nuclear war is probably bluff. But things in Moscow are very brittle. He might disappear overnight. He might try to save himself by escalating the war still further. Only an astrologer would attempt a prediction.”

TPNW

• Five countries have signed and a further two ratified the TPNW in a ceremony at the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Barbados, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti and Sierra Leone were the signatories while Democratic Republic of Congo and the Dominican Republic ratifying the treaty.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Jobs in Britain’s nuclear industry has grown to its highest in five years, according to the Nuclear Industry Association’s annual jobs map.

• The team behind the proposed Bradwell B nuclear plant said it was planning to move ahead with a feasibility study on its development – despite claims by Nuclear Free Local Authorities that letters had been sent to local residents indicating that the project team is making a withdrawal from the site.

• NFLA has welcomed a move by the UK government to introduce new rules increasing the financial compensation payable by the nuclear industry in the event of an accident – and have written to the government to seek assurances that the public will be properly protected.

Nuclear Energy

• France’s nuclear watchdog said it found no traces of nuclear radiation – after a fire broke out at a plant containing uranium in southeastern France.