CND Press Digest: Monday 22nd January 2024

NATO / Europe

• NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercises mark return to Cold War schemes, Russia says.
• Former NATO chief Lord Robertson argues for the conflict in Ukraine to continue: ‘If Ukraine loses, our enemies will decide the world order.’
• NATO has announced the release of its first-ever quantum strategy following approval by NATO Foreign Ministers on 28 November.
• NATO has nothing to fear from Russia’s ‘indestructible’ tanks, writes Hamish De Bretton-Gordon in the Telegraph.
• Reuters: The war in Ukraine has dented Russia’s confidence in its conventional forces and increased the importance to Moscow of non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNWs) as a means of deterring and defeating NATO in a potential future conflict, a leading Western think-tank said on Monday.

Middle East & North Africa

• The Jerusalem Post: Iran has almost enough uranium for nuclear bomb, US expert reports.
• Two US Navy Seals declared dead after raid to seize Iranian weapons bound for Houthis.
• ‘War hurts our hearts’: silent multi-faith peace walk held in London.
• Two Royal Navy warships crash off coast of Bahrain with ‘damage sustained’.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/royal-navy-warships-crash-bahrain-b2482072.html?link…

AUKUS / Indo-Pacific

• Putin willing to visit Pyongyang soon, North Korea claims it has tested underwater nuclear attack drone after ‘reckless’ naval exercise by US, South Korea and Japan.
• UK sends UN experts photographs of North Korean shipments to Russia.
• ICAN: Nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula set to worsen in 2024

Global Nukes

• An unholy alliance: UK and France stand with North Korea and Russia over Nuclear Testing Justice.
• Trump claims he prevented ‘nuclear holocaust’ in fraud trial deposition.

Nukes in Britain

• BBC 2 documentary on nuclear weapons.
• An FT review (paywalled) of last Thursday’s documentary. It calls the programme “balanced and informative yet it can only scratch the surface in a single hour” and suggests a longer running time would have allowed for a more thorough analysis of the conflict in the Middle East.
• BAE Systems has lamented the lack of housing in Barrow and called for 900 more homes to be built in order to house workers for its shipyard.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Nuclear startup drops plans for British factory in favour of France.
• The Telegraph: Britain risks being humiliated by France in an area it should dominate. Macron has stolen a march on the UK by drawing nuclear innovator Newcleo to the Continent.
• Renew Extra Weekly: Quadrupling nuclear? Where will it go?
• Renew Economy: Nuclear goes backwards, again, as wind and solar enjoy another year of record growth.
• Lancaster City Council leader suggests Germany is having a repeat of the Weimar years and puts the blame for high energy prices on the decision to ditch nuclear power.
• Can the EU and US end their dependence on Russia’s nuclear energy industry?
• Fortum considers Nordic sites for new nuclear power.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament