CND Press Digest: Friday 3rd February 2023

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Ukrainian crews will start training on Leopard 2 tanks from next week as part of an EU-funded training mission. Officials speaking to the FT said hundreds of soldiers had already flown to locations across Germany and Poland.

AUKUS

• Another former Aussie Pm has weighed in on AUKUS - the Liberal’s Malcom Turnbull said the Labor government of Anthony Albanese has so-farfailed to answer questions to the public about the pact – namely how it will impact the country’s sovereignty.
• Meanwhile, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan told the FT that Washington remains optimistic that the US and UK will overcome any obstacles in giving technology transfers to Australia as part of the AUKUS pact. He added that the pact “challenged some of the historic assumptions about what the United States could or wouldn’t be prepared to do in a different era.”

US-China

• A Chinese surveillance balloon is being tracked by the Pentagon – after it was spotted over US airspace. The spy craft flew over Canada and the state of Montana where US silo-based nuclear missiles are based – however has not been shot down for fear of causing dangerous debris. Beijing said it is looking into the matter.

UK Nuclear Energy

• The developers of Sizewell C feature in the letters pages of The Guardian. They argue the nearby RSPB nature reserve will not be harmed by the nuclear plant.

Nuclear Energy 

• Reuters runs a column on French nuclear output and how the industry needs to “get its act together” in 2023.

RadWaste

• Eastern Daily Press reports on an advert by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) who is seeking a local community willing to site a nuclear dump in Norfolk. 

Iran

• The Associated Press revealed on Friday satellite photos of the Iranian weapons factory attacked by Israeli drones at the weekend.

Nuclear War Simulator

• A games developer has released a Nuclear War Simulator, intended to “allow people to experience the full horror of modern warfare.” The game’s developer, originally from a city in Kazakhstan near Soviet test sites, said it was important to have “an accessible, interactive simulation available to the public to highlight the very real threat and consequences of such a conflict.”

Nuclear Research

• Benoît Pelopidas from Science Po writes in The Bulletin on research into nuclear injustices.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament