CND Press Digest: Thursday 15th June 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• The Telegraph on Belarus receiving Russian nuclear weapons: “We have missiles and bombs that we have received from Russia,” Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 Russian state TV channel. “The bombs are three times more powerful than those [dropped on] Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said, speaking on a road in a forest clearing with military vehicles parked nearby and what appeared to be a military storage facility in the background.
• That’s as exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya spoke to the BBC warning of the danger of transferring nuclear weapons from Russia into “the hands of a crazy dictator” in Belarus.
• Labour MP Barry Gardiner writes on the militarisation of the Arctic which has gathered pace in the year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Australia looks to deepen ties with NATO, with PM Anthony Albanese set to join the Alliance’s summit in July. Canberra is also seeking to transition to a more ambitious Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) once its current arrangement expires.
• Ukraine’s energy ministry said Thursday that the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has commenced his visit of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The tour was supposed to take place on Wednesday but was delayed over safety concerns around the plant.

British Nuclear Weapons

• Rolls Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgiç is reportedly unable to see key UK government documents relating to Britain’s nuclear submarines - that his company helps builds  due to his joint BritishTurkish citizenship. said: “Good progress continues to be made with dismantling decommissioned submarines in Rosyth. The first stage of dismantling, including the removal of all Low-Level radioactive Waste, has been completed on four platforms, Swiftsure, Resolution, Revenge, and Repulse.”

Future Warfare 

• Kate Hudson speaks to The Morning Star about the dangers of military AI and SIPRI’s recent announcement that the number of nuclear warheads available for use grew in 2022.

AUKUS

• Australia’s defence department has confirmed that it is likely to acquire between three and five Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US, despite an earlier belief that eight nuclear-powered subs would actually be built in Australia under the AUKUS pact. At most, it seems Canberra will be involved in building around three subs domestically.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Dounreay has reported that another radioactive particle has been found as part of the former nuclear plant’s environmental monitoring. The update, made on Monday, shows that a stainless steel particle from the prototype fast reactor cladding was found at Sandside beach on June 1. It was found at a depth of 15cm and is the second “minor” radioactive particle found at Sandside this year. The first was found on April 14.
• A series of drop-in sessions are to be held for residents interested in the possibility of a nuclear waste dump being built in Copeland.

Nuclear Energy

• The New York Times on US reliance on Russian uranium.
• France’s nuclear watchdog said EDF will have to have to assess several technical challenges during the review period for a lifespan extension to 60 years for its nuclear fleet.
• The BBC has a big report on the Onkalo underground nuclear dump in Finland which is preparing to receive its first spent nuclear fuel rods.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Despite US and Iranian rejections that discussions are happening, the NYT picks up on hopes in Washington that an interim deal on curbing Iran’s nuclear programme can be reached.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament