CND Press Digest: Wednesday 23rd August 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has visited Kyiv where he announced a £192 million loan guarantee to a UK-based company, for the supply of uranium enrichment services to Ukraine. Coverage by BBC, The Telegraph, Sky News, The Independent, and Reuters.
• David Axe with an opinion for Forbes calling for the US to allow the export of the Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Strike Missile to Ukraine for use on F-16s.
• The BBC looks at the growing problem the Ukrainian government has in meeting its demand for soldiers.
• British military intelligence said Tuesday that a suspected drone attack on a Russian military airfield deep inside the country is highly likely to have destroyed one of Russia’s nuclear-capable TU-22M3 supersonic long-range bombers.
• AP: Poland’s President Andrzej Duda confirmed Tuesday that Russia has begun shifting some short-range nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, a move that he said will change the security architecture of the region and the entire NATO military alliance.

US Nuclear Weapons

• No harmful levels of carcinogenic PCBs were found inside the missile launch facilities at F.E. Warren Air Force base in Wyoming, the service said Tuesday, as it looks for possible causes for cancers being reported among its nuclear missile community.

AUKUS

• The Conversation: The defence dilemma facing NZ’s next government: stay independent or join ‘pillar 2’ of AUKUS?
• Sky News Australia: “Should not be turned into a boxing ring for major power rivalry”: China takes another dig at AUKUS deal.
• Michael Pascoe for The New Daily: Marles coughs up the sad truth about AUKUS.

Military Emissions

• Aired in May 2023 but comes recommended: Are militaries driving the climate crisis?

Nuclear Energy

• Reuters: French nuclear watchdog ASN issued a decision allowing for the continued operation of state-owned utility EDF’s Tricastin 1 nuclear reactor in southern France, the first lifetime extension granted to a French reactor after 40 years of operation.

Fukushima

• The Fukushima radioactive water release plan makes the Guardian’s Wednesday briefing.
• The FT reports on the Chinese reaction to Thursday’s planned dumping.
• Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, chairman of the Pacific Islands bloc, saidthat science supported Japan’s decision to pump treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, but that the region may not agree on the “complex” issue.
• South Korea’s majority opposition party and civic groups around the country stepped up protests on Wednesday against Japan’s plan to release water from the Fukushima nuclear plant a day ahead of the planned start of the discharge. The SK government however, said it had no problem with the technical or scientific aspects of the plan.
• Associated Press has a timeline of the Fukushima disaster and major developments since.

CND

• Ayrshire CND Chair Arthur West writes about the Scottish peace movement for The Morning Star.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament