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G7 Leaders Falter Over Nuclear Disarmament in Hiroshima

“Was the G7 Vision on Nuclear Disarmament blind arrogance? “

While condemning Russia’s decision to “undermine the New START Treaty”, not one word was uttered about how the US walked out of the ABM Treaty with Russia as well as the INF Treaty, and has not returned to the nuclear deal that (former US President Barack) Obama negotiated with Iran, Slater pointed out

“The US leads the way in dishonoring its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligation for “good faith efforts” for nuclear disarmament and has never acted in “good faith”.

By Thalif Deen, UNITED NATIONS, 22 May 2023 (IDN) — When leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) countries met in Hiroshima May 19-21, one of the issues on the agenda was nuclear disarmament.

The venue of the summit was symbolically stark because the US atomic bombings in 1945 killed over 226,000 people in the twin Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the heaviest toll in Hiroshima.

But the seven leaders—from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the European Union (EU)—failed to produce anything singularly significant towards “a world without nuclear weapons”.

The failure was even more disappointing because three of the G7 countries—France, UK and US—are not only major nuclear powers (along with Russia and China) but also permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Asked at a press briefing in Hiroshima May 21, about the G7 “Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament”, which implicitly justified nuclear weapons for defensive purposes, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Well, I’m not a commentator of documents. (But) I think it’s important to say what I believe should be done. I don’t think we can give up on our main objective, which is to have a world free of nuclear weapons.”

“And one thing that disturbs me is that disarmament that was moving forward quite positively during the last decades of the 20th century has completely stopped. And we are even seeing a new race to armaments,” he noted.

“I think it is absolutely essential to re-introduce disarmament discussions about nuclear weapons, and I think it is (also) absolutely necessary that countries that own nuclear weapons commit not to do the first use of those weapons—and I would say commit not to use them in any circumstance.”

“And so, I think we need to be ambitious in relation to the capacity of one day, I hope still in my lifetime, to see this world without nuclear weapons,” Guterres declared.

In a statement released May 19, G7 leaders laid out their “Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament”. Excerpts:

“We, the Leaders of the G7, met at a historical juncture in Hiroshima, which together with Nagasaki offers a reminder of the unprecedented devastation and immense human suffering the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced as a result of the atomic bombings of 1945. In a solemn and reflective moment, we reaffirm, in this first G7 Leaders’ document with a particular focus on nuclear disarmament, our commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all.”

“We underscore the importance of the 77-year record of non-use of nuclear weapons. Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are dangerous and unacceptable. We recall the statement in Bali of all G20 leaders, including Russia.”

“In this context, we reiterate our position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, in the context of its aggression against Ukraine are inadmissible.”

“We recall the Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States issued on January 3, 2022, on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races, and affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

“We call on Russia to recommit—in words and deeds—to the principles enshrined in that Statement. Our security policies are based on the understanding that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war and coercion.”

[Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/19/g7-leaders-hiroshima-vision-on-nuclear-disarmament/]

Alice Slater, Board Member, World Beyond War, posed the question: “Was the G7 Vision on Nuclear Disarmament blind arrogance? “

She told IDN that in the shadows of the bombing of Hiroshima, nuclear-armed and nuclear “umbrella” states, relying on the US to use its nuclear weapons on their behalf, met at the Hiroshima Memorial Park, heard the painful testimony of the Hibakusha, survivors of that catastrophic day, August 6, 1945.

“And they delivered the most tone-deaf remarks, hypocritically espousing the awful nature of nuclear weapons and how Russia was endangering the whole planet with its nuclear threats, tossing in North Korea as well, and calling merely for transparency going forward, as if by merely revealing our terrifying arsenals and activities related to rebuilding, refurbishing redesigning and testing would prevent a nuclear cataclysm.”

While condemning Russia’s decision to “undermine the New START Treaty”, not one word was uttered about how the US walked out of the ABM Treaty with Russia as well as the INF Treaty, and has not returned to the nuclear deal that (former US President Barack) Obama negotiated with Iran, Slater pointed out. 

She said the US also rejected requests, many times, from Russia and China, it’s latest target for war, to negotiate treaties to ban weapons in space and cyberwar, which would have created the conditions for “strategic stability” called for by Russia to negotiate for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

“US allies in nuclear crime, include five NATO countries with US nuclear bombs on their territory—Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Turkey—and Japan of all nations, ironically, under its nuclear umbrella which is abandoning its Peace Constitution under US pressure and will become a NATO affiliate instead of urging that all the G7 nations join the new Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which they have all boycotted and rejected,” she said. 

“The US leads the way in dishonoring its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligation for “good faith efforts” for nuclear disarmament and has never acted in “good faith”. From the time Truman rejected Stalin’s plea to put the bomb under the UN’s control, newly established to end the scourge of war—its first resolution for nuclear disarmament—to Obama’s commitment to a trillion-dollar program over 30 years for two new bomb factories, warheads, missiles, planes and submarines to deliver them, the US has been the leading nuclear offender and proliferator.”

The latest hypocritical language messaging in a pretense of trying to eliminate nuclear weapons is taking “steps”. “We have been taking endless steps to nowhere under the rubric of “arms control”, she noted.

The G7 meeting was just another futile step to nowhere and resembles M. C. Escher’s drawing, Ascending and Descending, where grim men march endlessly up and down a staircase in circles and never arrive at the top, said Slater. [https://www.sartle.com/artwork/ascending-and-descending-m.-c.-escher]

Daniel Högsta, interim Executive Director, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), said: “This is more than a missed moment. With the world facing the stark risk nuclear weapons could be used for the first time since Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, this is a gross failure of global leadership.”

“Simply pointing fingers at Russia, China and North Korea is insufficient. We need the G7 countries, which all either possess, host or endorse the use of nuclear weapons, to step up and engage the other nuclear powers in disarmament talks if we are to reach their professed goal of a world without nuclear weapons,” he declared…………………………………. more https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/armaments/nuclear-weapons/6189-g7-leaders-falter-over-nuclear-disarmament-in-hiroshima

May 24, 2023 Posted by | politics international | 2 Comments

Hiroshima Survivor Slams G7 Leaders for Embracing War & Rejecting Nuclear Disarmament

Democracy Now, MAY 22, 2023

The G7 summit wrapped up Sunday in Hiroshima, where much of the summit focused on the war in Ukraine and China. While in Japan, President Biden and other world leaders paid tribute to the victims of the world’s first nuclear attack — the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 — laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and planting a tree.

But President Biden did not issue an apology for the attack, which killed an estimated 140,000 people and seriously injured another 100,000. For more, we speak with Setsuko Thurlow, who survived the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and devoted her life to nuclear disarmament. In 2017, she was chosen to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

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  • Setsuko Thurlowsurvivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and nuclear disarmament activist.
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The G7 summit wrapped up Sunday in Hiroshima, where much of the summit focused on the war in Ukraine and China. While in Japan, President Biden and other world leaders paid tribute to the victims of the world’s first nuclear attack — the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 — laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and planting a tree. But President Biden did not issue an apology for the attack, which killed an estimated 140,000 people and seriously injured another 100,000. For more, we speak with Setsuko Thurlow, who survived the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and devoted her life to nuclear disarmament. In 2017, she was chosen to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Transcript

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. SETSUKO THURLOW: Well, I came to Hiroshima from Canada, where I live. I wanted to be part of this whole excitement that the world leaders are coming to Hiroshima and to discuss the nuclear disarmament. And the people here were so excited, so happy to have the opportunity to give them the — to give the leaders the opportunity to be with us, to be in the center of the calamity and catastrophe, and to have a profound encounter themselves with the meaning of the dawn of the nuclear age. And people had a great anticipation and excitement. They’ve prepared for this with all kinds of recommendations to the leaders.

But somehow their wishes were not fully listened. To put it bluntly, for us survivors, who want nothing less than the total disarmament, total abolishment of nuclear weapons, and the majority of the citizens of Japan who support survivors’ idea, to us, it was nothing but a disaster. We are feeling more than frustration. It’s a fury, anger and a total disappointment, because we —

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This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today.

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  • Setsuko Thurlowsurvivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and nuclear disarmament activist.
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The G7 summit wrapped up Sunday in Hiroshima, where much of the summit focused on the war in Ukraine and China. While in Japan, President Biden and other world leaders paid tribute to the victims of the world’s first nuclear attack — the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 — laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and planting a tree. But President Biden did not issue an apology for the attack, which killed an estimated 140,000 people and seriously injured another 100,000. For more, we speak with Setsuko Thurlow, who survived the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and devoted her life to nuclear disarmament. In 2017, she was chosen to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: The G7 summit wrapped up Sunday in Hiroshima, Japan. Much of the summit focused on two issues: the war in Ukraine and China. President Biden announced $375 million more in military aid for Ukraine. He also pledged to begin training Ukrainian forces on flying U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. Biden did not offer to send any F-16s, but the U.S. has lifted its opposition to allies supplying the warplanes to Ukraine. Britain and the Netherlands have announced plans to work together to help provide Ukraine F-16s. President Biden spoke Sunday.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: You know, in my private meeting with President Zelensky after the G7 meeting, and with his staff, I told — the United States, together with our allies and partners, is going to begin training Ukrainian pilots in fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to strengthen Ukraine’s air force as part of a long-term commitment to Ukraine’s ability to defend itself. … I have a flat assurance from the — from Zelensky that they will not — they will not use it to go on and move into Russian geographic territory. But wherever Russian troops are within Ukraine in the area, they would be able to do that.

AMY GOODMAN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the G7 in Hiroshima, thanked Biden for his support.

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY: We are very thankful. I think it will give us more strong positions on the battlefield. So, we are very thankful that that is a new package. I really didn’t know the details, but I know that you gave us very big package during this year. It’s more than $37 billion. My appreciations. We will never forget. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: While in Hiroshima, President Biden and other world leaders paid tribute to the victims of the world’s first nuclear attack — the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 — laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and planting a tree. But President Biden did not issue an apology for the attack. A group of anti-nuclear activists rallied on the streets.

PROTESTER 1: [translated] Japan and the United States are trying to conduct a war of aggression on China. I am protesting because I absolutely cannot accept the fact that they are in Hiroshima, a place where an atomic bomb was dropped, trying to hold a meeting to start a nuclear war.

PROTESTER 2: [translated] I’m absolutely against the war. I’m against using nuclear weapons. That is why I’m here. This summit is being held to prepare for a nuclear war, so we, the union, need to do whatever we can to protest against it.

AMY GOODMAN: We go now to Hiroshima, where we’re joined by Setsuko Thurlow, who survived the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 that killed about 140,000 people. She’s devoted her life to nuclear disarmament and the ban treaty process. In 2017, she was chosen to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN. She’s joining us on the phone from Hiroshima.

It’s great to have you back with us, Setsuko Thurlow. If you can respond to the G7 meeting and the outcome this weekend, held in Hiroshima, where you are?

SETSUKO THURLOW: Well, I came to Hiroshima from Canada, where I live. I wanted to be part of this whole excitement that the world leaders are coming to Hiroshima and to discuss the nuclear disarmament. And the people here were so excited, so happy to have the opportunity to give them the — to give the leaders the opportunity to be with us, to be in the center of the calamity and catastrophe, and to have a profound encounter themselves with the meaning of the dawn of the nuclear age. And people had a great anticipation and excitement. They’ve prepared for this with all kinds of recommendations to the leaders.

But somehow their wishes were not fully listened. To put it bluntly, for us survivors, who want nothing less than the total disarmament, total abolishment of nuclear weapons, and the majority of the citizens of Japan who support survivors’ idea, to us, it was nothing but a disaster. We are feeling more than frustration. It’s a fury, anger and a total disappointment, because we —

AMY GOODMAN: Setsuko Thurlow, how do you think the war can end, the war in Ukraine can end?

SETSUKO THURLOW: Well, to me, personally, you know, why we keep hearing about more military aid, the support for war, than hearing about the efforts being made for a peaceful ceasefire at the earliest possible time? Every day, many, many lives have been killed. Certainly, something must be going on, some — quietly, some effort must be being paid for ceasefire. But we don’t hear about them. Are they really making that effort? Do they really feel they can win this out? I don’t know what’s their thoughts. All I can say is it has to stop at the earliest possible chance, no matter what.

AMY GOODMAN: President Biden did not apologize for the U.S. dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, then three three days later on Nagasaki. Your thoughts?

SETSUKO THURLOW: Well, it’s unfortunate. He had the opportunity, but he didn’t. This time, too, in the joint statement or communiqué, he kept criticizing the Russians, the Chinese or North Korea. And why do they fail to look at themselves with a critical eye, and we don’t hear anything evil which is being committed by the West? I mean, of course, as far as the war in Ukraine is concerned, I think Putin should get a total condemnation. I do condemn. No matter what the reason is, to be willing to kill so many human lives, that’s not acceptable. That must stop.

But your question was whether the president should have — well, my opinion, yes, the United States has committed the crime against humanity. The United States has never acknowledged any guilt. And, well, this truth, old saying, the victims — victors write the history. The U.S. has been condemning —………………………………………………… more https://www.democracynow.org/2023/5/22/g7_meeting_hiroshima_nuclear_weapons

May 24, 2023 Posted by | Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Ukraine: Power loss at nuclear plant underscores ‘highly vulnerable’ safety situation

Peace and Security  https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136932

The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine lost all external power for several hours on Monday morning, highlighting the urgent need to protect the facility and prevent an accident, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement. 

This marked the seventh time that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant had been completely disconnected from the national electricity grid since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion 15 months ago, the agency said, noting that the facility was forced to run on emergency diesel generators once again. 

The plant’s only remaining external 750 kilovolt power line had been cut around 5:30am, local time, and re-connected after more than five hours, according to IAEA experts located at the facility. 

‘We’re playing with fire’ 

Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation demonstrated “the highly vulnerable nuclear safety and security situation” at the plant, which has come under shelling during the conflict. 

“As I’ve said repeatedly, this simply can’t go on. We’re playing with fire. We must act now to avoid the very real danger of a nuclear accident in Europe, with its associated consequences for the public and the environment.” 

The ZNPP was occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war and is still being operated by Ukrainian personnel.

Most staff live in the nearby town of Enerhodar. On Friday, the IAEA reported that a location close to the town came under artillery fire earlier that day. 

Intense negotiations continue 

Mr. Grossi said he continues to engage in intense negotiations with all parties to secure the protection of the nuclear plant, stressing that “I will not stop until this has been achieved.” 

He explained that the ZNPP does not have any operational back-up power lines since the last one functioning had been damaged in March, which has still not been repaired. 

“For more than two and a half months, this major nuclear power plant has only had one functioning external power line. This is an unprecedented and uniquely risky situation. Defence-in-depth – which is fundamental to nuclear safety – has been severely undermined at the ZNPP,” he said. 

Still awaiting access 

He called for greater efforts to restore the back-up power lines, while also reiterating the need for the IAEA team on site to gain access to the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP), located nearby. 

The ZTPP has an open switchyard through which back-up power has been provided to the nuclear plant in the past. Access has yet to be granted despite reassurances by the Russian state nuclear company, Rosatom. 

Following the off-site power cut on Monday, all the nuclear plant’s 20 diesel generators started operating. However, 12 were later switched off, leaving eight running, which is sufficient to operate all systems safely.  

The IAEA said its experts at the site were informed that there is enough diesel fuel for 23 days, adding that after the 750 kilovolt line was restored, the diesel generators were gradually turned off. 

May 24, 2023 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

New Zealand won’t give up its nuclear-free stance, says Prime Minister Chris Hipkins

Mark Quinlivan, 23 May 23, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/new-zealand-won-t-give-up-its-nuclear-free-stance-says-prime-minister-chris-hipkins.html

“New Zealand’s nuclear-free position is long-standing and it’s not going to change.”

Chris Hipkins is refusing to budge on New Zealand’s nuclear-free status and says there are still no plans for Aotearoa to join a non-nuclear arm of a US-led defence alliance.

The Prime Minister appeared on AM on Tuesday, having just returned from a trip to Papua New Guinea to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pacific leaders.

“I was pretty clear [with Blinken]; New Zealand’s nuclear-free position is long-standing and it’s not going to change,” he told host Ryan Bridge.  

Hipkins noted that position would prevent New Zealand from “ever” being directly involved in a defence alliance between Australia, the UK and the US – known as AUKUS.

“The US is still committed to a security relationship with New Zealand regardless of our nuclear-free status – I think that’s a good thing.”

Hipkins would not be drawn on even considering the possibility of allowing US nuclear submarines into New Zealand waters.

“We don’t allow those in New Zealand waters and that’s not going to change,” he said. “Many other Pacific nations have similar concerns.”

Bridge asked Hipkins what New Zealand’s specific concerns were.

The Prime Minister said New Zealand was “concerned about nuclear energy… because of the environmental impact of it, and the potential for environmental disaster”.

As for New Zealand joining a second, nuclear-free tier of AUKUS, Hipkins reiterated it remained unclear how that would work.

It comes after Defence Minister Andrew Little earlier this year confirmed Washington had raised the possibility of New Zealand becoming a non-nuclear partner of the alliance. 

May 24, 2023 Posted by | New Zealand, politics | Leave a comment

Russia evacuates nuclear munitions due to incursion from Ukraine into Belgorodoblast-Ukraine’s Intel

 https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/05/22/russia-evacuates-nuclear-munitions-due-to-incursion-from-ukraine-into-belgorod-oblast-ukraines-intel-spox/ Russian authorities have urgently evacuated a nuclear munitions storage facility in the Belgorod oblast (western Russia) following the incursion of the Legion “Freedom for Russia” and RDK (Russian Volunteer Corps) from Ukraine into the Belgorod region, Ukraine’s Intelligence spox Andrii Yusov said.

On 22 May 2023, in the morning, a Russian border crossing in the Belgorod oblast was reportedly destroyed by artillery shelling from the territory of Ukraine. After that, the incursion of troops supported by armored vehicles from Ukraine into the Belgorod oblast began.

The Russian military unit no. 25624, located in the Grayvoron district of the Belgorod oblast, is a part of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces. It is an “Object C,” which is the conventional name for Russia’s central nuclear weapons storage base, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The Legion “Freedom for Russia” and RDK (Russian Volunteer Corps), which allegedly comprise Russian citizens who decided to fight on the side of Ukraine and joined the International Legion of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, claimed its fighters crossed the Russo-Ukrainian border and entered the Belgorod oblast from the territory of Ukraine.

The Legion “Freedom for Russia” and RDK announced on their official Telegram channels that their troops advanced deep into the Russian territory and engaged with Russia’s forces in several towns in Belgorod oblast, namely Kozinka, Gora-Podol, and Grayvoron (the latter being around ten kilometers from the Russo-Ukrainian border), and called on residents of the Russian border regions to stay at home and “not resist.” Shortly after this, locals in Grayvoron started to report gunfire in their town.

May 24, 2023 Posted by | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

France holds up EU energy agreement over nuclear power

Paris withdraws support for renewable targets law as it seeks inclusion of hydrogen produced with atomic power

Ft.com Alice Hancock in Brussels and Sarah White in Paris MAY 18 2023

France is leading a coalition of countries holding up agreement on EU-wide targets for renewable energy, as it makes a fresh drive for better treatment of its nuclear industry. The move comes amid a broader pushback against the bloc’s climate agenda as the realities of what is required for the green transition become increasingly apparent.

The EU’s 27 member states were due to agree an overall target of 42.5 per cent of renewable power in the bloc’s energy mix by 2030 on Wednesday.

But France, which relies on nuclear power for the majority of its electricity, signalled that it would not support the text, citing concerns that “low-carbon” hydrogen generated with electricity from atomic power plants would not be counted as part of the targets.

…………….. The vote, which was pulled from the agenda of an ambassadors’ meeting at 11.30pm on Tuesday, would have paved the way for the targets to become EU law following their approval in the European parliament……………………………………..

French officials have in the past rejected criticism that they are promoting the interests of its nuclear industry by arguing that EU rules allow countries to choose their own energy sources. Its fleet of nuclear power plants already give it lower greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP than many of its neighbours, although it has missed EU targets for building renewables.

Six pro-nuclear countries, including the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary, followed Paris’s lead on Wednesday and withheld support for the directive. Meanwhile, anti-nuclear governments, including in Germany and Austria, have been strongly opposed to recognising nuclear power as a clean fuel……………………………… https://www.ft.com/content/b0d3e7e3-a8ae-457b-9482-3282d32973be

May 24, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

Romania to be a guinea pig for NuScam’s small nuclear reactor folly

Romania’s NuScale SMR plan gets USD275 million boost WNN 22 May 2023

Funding of up to USD275 million to advance the deployment of a NuScale Power Corporation VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR) plant in Romania was announced at the G7 leaders’ summit by the USA and “multinational public-private partners” from Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

……………… EXIM and the US International Development Finance Corporation also issued Letters of Interest for “potential financial support of up to USD3 billion and USD1 billion, respectively, for project deployment”. The announcement was part of the G7 Leaders’ plan to “mobilise USD600 billion in infrastructure investments under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment”.

……………………… John Hopkins, NuScale Power president and CEO, said: “Support from the Biden Administration and international partners is a signal to energy markets around the world that NuScale SMRs are an important new technology solution to global decarbonisation and that Romania has the capabilities and experience to support its deployment … we are thrilled public-private partnerships are helping deploy our leading SMR technology as soon as 2029.”………………..  https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NuScale-s-Romanian-SMR-plan-gets-USD275-million-bo

May 24, 2023 Posted by | 2 WORLD, marketing | Leave a comment

Ukraine admits to murdering “quite a few” Russian civilians

BY TYLER DURDEN, Zero Hedge, 22 May 23

A senior Ukrainian official has admitted that his country has assassinated “quite a few” Russian civilians who support Putin and his war to assert control of the Donbas region. In interviews first reported by The Times of London, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s military intelligence service, also promised more attacks are to come. 

“We’ve already successfully targeted quite a few people,” said Budanov. He didn’t name any of the victims, but said “there have been well-publicized cases everyone knows about, thanks to the media coverage.”

Since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, several prominent Russian supporters of the invasion — and many innocent bystanders — have been killed or wounded in the campaign. 

One of the most prominent such attacks happened last August, when a car bomb killed journalist Darya Dugina — in a possible attempt to kill her father, the political scientist-philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. 

Like her father, Darya was a vocal supporter of Putin and his invasion. Both she and her father were sanctioned by the United States after the war began. Given her profile, it’s possible Ukraine may have intentionally murdered her in a sinister two-for-one act of punishment.  

Most recently, novelist Zakhar Prielepin was wounded in a May 6 car-bombing, and Russian military blogger Vladen Tatarsky was killed at an April public appearance after a woman presented him a statuette with a bomb concealed inside it. Fifteen others were injured. 

For perspective, a hypothetical parallel for this campaign would be Iraq’s intelligence service blowing up Iraq-invasion cheerleaders like Bill Kristol, Jeffrey Goldberg, Ann Coulter and Max Boot in 2003. Ukraine’s targeting of civilians doesn’t merely violate vague “international norms” that Washington pretends to hold dear — they are explicitly war crimes.    

What’s more, if one accepts the definition of terrorism as “the intentional use of violence against civilians in order to obtain political aims,” Budanov has implicated Ukraine as a state sponsor of terror — one that’s received $37 billion in US military aid since the war started, and perhaps double that in other assistance. 

Budanov isn’t merely an unapologetic terrorist, he’s a boastful one. “These cases have happened and will continue,” he said. Such people will receive a well-deserved punishment, and the appropriate punishment can only be liquidation and I will implement it.”……………………………….more https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-admits-murdering-quite-few-russian-civilians-who-back-putin-and-his-invasion

May 24, 2023 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine | Leave a comment

NATO to Draw Up ‘Russia War Plans’ for First Time Since Cold War

MAY 21, 2023 BY NEWS WIRE  https://21stcenturywire.com/2023/05/21/nato-to-draw-up-russia-war-plans-for-first-time-since-cold-war/

NATO alliance leaders to approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that detail how to respond to a Russian attack.

David DeCamp from Antiwar.com reports…

NATO is drawing up plans on how to fight a war with Russia for the first time since the Cold War.

According to Reuters, at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July, alliance leaders will approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail how to respond to a Russian attack.

The plans will be vastly different than anything drawn up during the Cold War as NATO has expanded from 16 members to 31 since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. The documents will also outline how NATO members should upgrade their forces and logistics.

“Allies will know exactly what forces and capabilities are needed, including where, what and how to deploy,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said of the war plans.

NATO’s newest member, Finland, shares an over 800-mile border with Russia and is poised to sign a deal that will give US troops access to its territory. While the alliance is preparing to beef up its presence on its “eastern flank,” one NATO official acknowledged the danger of massing troops near Russia’s border.

“The more troops you are massing up on the border, it’s like having a hammer. At some point, you want to find a nail,” said Lt. Gen. Hubert Cottereau, the vice chief of staff for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. “If the Russians are massing troops on the border that will make us nervous, if we are massing troops on the border that will make them nervous.”

May 24, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, weapons and war | Leave a comment