CND Press Roundup Friday 2nd December 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Ukraine’s military said Thursday that Russia is replacing the warheads of older, nuclear-capable missiles with ballast, and apparently using them to distract Ukraine’s air defences. Mykola Danyliuk said fragments found in western Ukraine were that of the Kh-55 – a bomber-launched cruise missile designed in the 1970s to strike strategic targets.

• Russia’s Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was willing to play a responsible part in nuclear arms control, but that was almost impossible to discuss due to western involvement in Ukraine. It comes after Russia’s last-minute pull out from talks with the US – due to commence this week – on resuming inspections under the New START treaty.

• The Bulletin assesses claims made by Russia in October – that Ukraine was preparing a radioactive “dirty bomb” attack.

New Arms Race

• Behind a paywall, but the Economist has an article on a new nuclear arms race with the US, Russia, and China.

Bruce Kent

• In November, the Diocese of Westminster awarded the Bruce Kent with a posthumous award for his dedication to volunteering, and improving the lives of those around them.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Nuclear Free Local Authorities has called for local groups opposed to an underwater nuclear waste dump off the north-west coast of England, to be included in Community Partnerships set up to consult on where it should be sited.

• Alistair Osborne in The Times takes issue with Grant Shapps’ sums on Sizewell C. On the matter of the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model – which shifts some of the construction costs onto the consumer: “The good news for nuclear fans? That some investors think the RAB model could make new plants financeable: it’ll cut backers’ cost of capital and has shown it can lure private funds into other projects including the Thames Tideway super sewer, Heathrow Terminal 5 and energy networks. The bad? That they think the government will have to put in at least £5 billion equity to get Sizewell built and also insulate investors from a big chunk of cost-overruns. Shapps shouldn’t pretend that a sub-£700 million investment cuts it as nuclear fuel.”

• Dr Paul Dorfmann talks to Common Weal on the UK’s nuclear strategy. Listen to the podcast here.

Nuclear Energy

• French energy grid operator RTE has warned of blackouts this winter – with the lack of investment in renewables, and a nuclear fleet working at half-capacity given as reasons for the potential outages.

• The Dutch advertising regulator has found that nuclear operator EPZ, lied in its claim that its Borssele plant recycles “95 percent” of its nuclear fuel, and that only “5 percent” remains as nuclear waste: “In its ruling, the Board [of Appeals of the Dutch Advertising Authority] blames EPZ all the more because these misleading claims appear on EPZ’s website under the header “Environment & Health”, where ‘unsuspecting visitors should expect accurate and balanced information about nuclear fuel and nuclear waste’.”

Iran Nuclear Deal

• The Washington Post has a comment on the need for a renewed nuclear deal with Iran. It concludes: “The West is right to condemn Iran’s domestic repression and should look at measures to protect Iranian protesters. But it needs to also make a new diplomatic push to ensure Iran doesn’t get the bomb. Guaranteeing that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and safe is in the interest not only of the West, but also of Iran’s neighbors and the Iranian people.”

North Korea

• South Korea has placed fresh sanctions on North Korea in response to its continuing ballistic missile tests. While largely symbolic, eight North Korean individuals and seven organizations suspected of engaging in illicit activities to finance the North’s growing nuclear weapons and missile programs.