CND Press Round-Up - 24th October 2022

• UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has contacted his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, about the latter’s recent claim that Ukraine was preparing to use a ‘dirty bomb’ – conventional explosives packed with radioactive material – on the battlefield. Coverage in The Telegraph and The Independent.

• Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy also condemned the Russian claim – saying on Sunday that only Moscow had the ability to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine: “If anyone can use nuclear weapons in this part of Europe – it can be only one source – and that source is the one that has ordered comrade Shoigu to telephone here or there.”

• G7 leaders have condemned the recent kidnapping by Russia of senior Ukrainian officials working at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. “We condemn Russia’s repeated kidnapping of Ukrainian ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant) leadership and staff,” G7 Nonproliferation Directors General said in a statement dated Saturday, adding that the plant should be fully returned to Ukrainian control.

• Russia’s state nuclear firm Rosatom said Friday that the US has prevented it and Russia’s nuclear watchdog from attending an upcoming IAEA conference in Washington – by not issuing its representatives with visas. “We consider this to be a show of disrespect on part of the United States towards the IAEA,” it added.

• The Independent has a piece on nuclear war anxieties in central and eastern Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• The Moscow Times runs an opinion calling for Europe to sanction Russia’s nuclear industry – after it was omitted from the latest round of EU sanctions.

• The Financial Times has an interview with the Harvard psychologist Steve Pinker – with much of the interview discussing the invasion of Ukraine, climate collapse, and nuclear war: “Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Pinker’s worries are climate change and nuclear war. He is pro-nuclear power now and pro-nuclear disarmament [one day]. In Rationality, he points out that the worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl, killed roughly as many people as die from coal emissions every day. Meanwhile, as recently as 1986, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev jointly suggested disarmament. The geopolitics has changed, but countries could reduce the risks of nuclear war, for example by agreeing ‘no first strike’ policies. ‘If we are complacent about climate change and nuclear weapons stability, terrible things could happen,’ Pinker says. ‘Our only choice is to deal with them as rationally as we can.’”

• The Bulletin writes that the nuclear rhetoric seen over the war in Ukraine has shown the fallacy of a limited nuclear weapons exchange.

Trade Unions

• CND affiliated union PCS is showing the documentary film The Atom: a love affair, online over the weekend of 28-31 October – free to members. The final screening on 31 October will be followed by a panel discussion with CND’s Kate Hudson and the film’s director, Vicki Lesley. Kate and Vicki will also be appearing for a discussion after CND’s screening of When the Wind Blows – tomorrow. Online tickets are still available.

UK Nuclear Energy

• A Japanese nuclear startup based in Kyoto has put its money on the US or UK to be the first to build nuclear fusion reactors. Kyoshi Seko, vice president of Kyoto Fusioneering told The Telegraph: “The UK market is quite compatible with Japan and the UK is good at making policy and good execution and Japan has a good manufacturing or engineering capability. So this mix will happen to accelerate the fusion.”

Nuclear Energy

• The Telegraph looks at the problems facing France’s energy shortage this winter after what it calls “years of under investment in its ageing nuclear fleet.”

• Sky News Australia is pushing nuclear power with one host claimingit’s helping reduce energy prices. “If only Australia had the means to introduce an energy supply that is reliable and constant, unlike renewables – and what’s more, it’s emission-free,” host Rita Panahi said, referring to nuclear.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• An Iranian hacking group has hacked the email server of a subsidiary of Iran’s atomic energy agency – publishing the details online. The group known as Black Reward said the information was in relation to Iranian nuclear activities and carried out in support of ongoing protests in the country.

Trump

• Donald Trump has denied reports in The Washington Post that confidential White House documents recently found during an FBI raid at his Mar-a-Lago resort included highly sensitive information about China and Iran. The raid, which happened in August, was said to have uncovered dossiers related to a foreign power’s nuclear weapons.