CND Press Roundup Monday 3rd October 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Former head of the CIA and retired army general David Petraeus saidthe US would destroy Russia’s troops and equipment and sink its Black Sea fleet if it used nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

• It comes as Putin ally, the Chechan strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, said tactical nuclear weapons should be used in Ukraine while voicing frustrations with Russian military setbacks.

• But UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the first day of the Tory conference that Putin was unlikely to order a nuclear strike.

• Former Royal Navy officer Lewis Page writes a rather lengthy piece in the Telegraph on why Vladimir Putin would be a fool to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. One of the reasons is his faith in Britain’s own nuclear weapons: “What could Putin do then? Escalate again, as he and his spokesmen have threatened, and use strategic megaton-range nukes against Nato targets – London, for instance? London would be a particularly bad choice. The UK, thank goodness, is a nuclear armed nation and all of Russia would shortly cease to exist without the need for the rest of Nato to do anything. Russia’s cities would not survive like Hiroshima and Nagasaki: strategic megaton weapons are a different ball game. Maybe Putin might seek to back down the West by hitting some other, non-nuclear Nato nation: but Nato responds to an attack on one as if to an attack on all. There are various ways that could play out, but it would probably end the same way as a strategic attack on the UK: with no more Russia.

• A top aide of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine would lead to a nuclear arms race. Mikhailo Podolyak told The Telegraph it was up to nuclear-armed states like Britain to prevent Russia following through on a threat to strike Ukraine if it attacks newly annexed territory. “Vladimir Putin has gone to war against a non-nuclear state. He can’t win a conventional war so he threatens to use nuclear weapons,” Mr Podolyyak said. “If he gets away with it, every non-nuclear state will say: ‘I’m going to get the bomb’”.

• The UN’s nuclear watchdog has asked Russia for clarity on the whereabouts of the head of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – who was detained by a Russian patrol on Friday.

• Pope Francis called on Putin to stop the “spiral of violence and death” in Ukraine and that the crisis risked a nuclear escalation with uncontrollable global consequences.

Trident / Lakenheath

• The Express reports on how Britain’s nuclear-armed subs have been operating at half-capacity as one of the fleet, HMS Vanguard, has been dry docked for repairs for the past seven years – at a cost of £500 million. A second sub has also been taken out of action, leaving only two subs to carry out patrols on a continuous basis.

• The leader of Norwich City Council has called for CND to be welcomed back into the mainstream after concerns were raised about the return of US nuclear bombs to Lakenheath airbase.

UK Nuclear Testing

• The Mirror covers the 70th anniversary of Britain’s first nuclear tests – Operation Hurricane – with warnings from cross-bench MPs not to betray nuclear test veterans.

• The BBC looks at demands by a daughter of a nuclear test veteran for a Hillsborough-level apology.

• That’s as the The Telegraph and The Evening Standard report on the government’s announcement that £450,000 will be made available for an oral history project to remember the testimonies of the veterans.

• Scottish CND is hosting an online event this evening from 6pm on the legacy of Operation Hurricane. Get your tickets here and please share on your networks or share CND’s social media posts about it.

UK Nuclear Energy

• A letter in Cambrian News on why we must avoid using nuclear power.

• Pension firm Phoenix Group says it is willing to back investments in nuclear power – but the UK government needs to overhaul the funding model which led to the collapse of previous proposals. The firm is also calling on Whitehall to be clearer on the returns to investors who back future plants. The paywall-free story can be found here.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• The Express cites diplomatic sources who say reviving the Iran nuclear deal could be on hold as protests sweep the country. 

• CND is mentioned for its participation in the Just Stop Oil coalition in this Daily Mail article covering the wave of demos that took place across the country this weekend.