CND Press Roundup Thursday 13th October 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group meet today as the US reaffirmed its commitment to defend every inch of the bloc’s territory.

• William Alberque writes for think tank IISS arguing that Putin won’t use nuclear weapons over Ukraine: “But using nuclear weapons in Ukraine would increase resistance to Putin within Russia and galvanise global forces to punish him and his regime. If Putin is intent upon personal or national suicide, there are easier ways to do it than by using nuclear weapons given that there is little if anything to be gained by doing so.”

• This piece in War on the Rocks suggests we’re on the path to nuclear war as both Russia and the West have escalated the fighting in Ukraine: “In taking these escalatory steps, both sides have also increased the domestic and geopolitical costs of compromise, thus increasing the incentive for further escalations. Thus, for example, the Russian annexations are intended to signal to foreign and domestic audiences that the occupied parts of Ukrainian territory will now be defended as if they were Russia itself. But it is not just a signal, it also genuinely reduces Russia’s ability to back down and abandon these provinces. This is the essence of an escalatory cycle — it contains a logic of its own wherein previous escalations make future ones more likely.”

• The Rachmann Review podcast from the FT has an episode looking at Putin’s nuclear threats. Transcript here.

• Russia said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine will need to start using Russian nuclear fuel – as stocks at the plant are low. This has been decried as “fake news” by Ukraine’s nuclear agency who said plenty of fuel was still in storage.

• Elon Musk has denied a claim that he spoke to Vladimir Putin about nuclear weapons.

US National Security Strategy

• The long-awaited national security strategy (NSS) has been released and is preparing the US for facing two nuclear powers. It found that a Russia who has been defeated by conventional means may incorporate more nuclear weapons into its strategy. China meanwhile has the military and economic clout to challenge US interests in Asia, with some experts predicting an increase in nuclear arsenals by the US in order to meet these two powers.  

Test Veterans

• A recording of a recent event on the legacy of Operation Hurricane is available to view on YouTube thanks to West Australia Nuclear Free Alliance.

UK Nuclear Energy

• A difficult Prime Minister’s Questions for Liz Truss yesterday. Coming under fire from the SNP’s Ian Blackford, she said the SNP should back her plan to build more nuclear power stations and help extract more North Sea gas.

• The UK Environment Agency has agreed to changes to the environmental permit for Hinkley Point C – allowing for operators to store used nuclear fuel in dry storage as it waits for transfer to a nuclear waste dump. The permit had previously been for wet storage – submerging the nuclear waste underwater.  

• The Telegraph has an article on the job opportunities that could be made by building a new nuclear plant on the old Trawsfynydd site in the Snowdonia national park.

• The group tasked with finding a suitable community to host an underground nuclear dump is looking for new members.

• An interesting take down of a recent article in the Sun – saying the paper’s portrayal of the seaside town of Seascale near Sellafield which is a “rather sweet notion that an evacuation would be possible in the event of a Sellafield catastrophe is reminiscent of Raymond Briggs naive couple in When the Wind Blows.”

• The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is looking at new AI concepts to help improve risk management.

Nuclear Energy

• Strikes in France have led to delays in maintenance work at eight nuclear plants.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Restoring the Iran nuclear deal is not the main focus in Washington – US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. He added that the US was more concerned with supporting ongoing protests in the country rather than pursuing a revival of the deal made in 2015.

North Korea

• North Korea conducted two fresh nuclear-capable missile tests on Wednesday, personally overseen by leader Kim Jong Un. The launch of the long-range cruises extended a record number of missile tests this year by Pyongyang.