Putin’s UnPeaceful Atom
atomic reactors provide “weapons for the enemy,” serving as pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction.
No atomic reactor anywhere can credibly claim to be immune
The fragility of instrumentation, operational, cooling, spent fuel storage and other vital systems have been amply demonstrated
Karl Grossman – Harvey Wasserman, October 6, 2025, https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/06/putins-unpeaceful-atom/
Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin last week eagerly confirmed that all “Peaceful Atom” nuclear power plants are fair game for military destruction and that the ensuing apocalyptic fall-out is not really his concern.
As Reuters reported, “Putin on Thursday warned Ukraine that it was playing a dangerous game by striking the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and suggested that Moscow could retaliate against nuclear plants controlled by Ukraine.”
The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia complex is, noted Reuters “Europe’s largest [and] has been cut off from external power for more than a week and is being cooled by emergency diesel generators.”
Zaporizhzhia was captured by Russian forces in the early days of the 2022 invasion.
The global crisis it now embodies was foreseen 45 years ago by Bennett Ramberg, in his book “Nuclear Power Plants as Weapons for the Enemy: An Unrecognized Military Peril.”
Ramberg holds a Ph.D. in international relations and a law degree. He’s been an analyst or consultant to the Nuclear Control Institute, Global Green, Committee to Bridge the Gap and the U.S. Senate and U.S. State Department. He now directs the Global Security Seminar. Published by the University of California Press, his book and a new edition out last year are beyond chilling.
And its grave warnings are playing out in recent years and today.
According to the U.S. government’s 9/11 Commission, the Indian Point nuclear reactors, 25 miles north of New York City, were potential targets considered for the September 11 attacks. Between 1984 and 1987, Iraq bombed Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant six times. In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. Air Force bombed three nuclear reactors in Iraq. It gets worse.
As an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists put it last year, “small modular reactors, floating nuclear plants, and microreactors….these emerging technologies elevate concerns that wartime attacks could expose warfighters and civilians to nuclear fallout….Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has already set a dangerous precedent that could sway the course of future wars.”
William Alberque, former director of strategy, technology and arms control of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a piece on the website of the London-headquartered organization in 2023 that amidst “The wartime weaponization of nuclear power stations,” the “risks of a nuclear disaster remain high at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as Russia continues to threaten the health and safety of the entire region through its reckless behaviour.”
In the war on Ukraine, he adds, “a nuclear weapon state has decided that nuclear power reactors are legitimate targets and tools of coercion in war.”
Thus, atomic reactors provide “weapons for the enemy,” serving as pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction.
Amidst yet another billionaire-hyped push for a “Nuclear Renaissance,” atomic power—including large, small, and fusion reactors—has again faltered due to runaway costs and devastating construction delays. All reactors heat the planet at 300 degrees Centigrade, emit radioactive carbon 14, and can’t match flexible demand.
Most importantly, huge breakthroughs in renewables and battery efficiency have made them cheaper, safer, cleaner, faster-to-build, and more flexible, job-producing and reliable than both fossil fuels and atomic energy. In short, they have priced out fossil/nukes. More than 90% of the world’s new energy capacity is now Solartopian, comprised of carbon/heat and waste-free renewables, battery backup-up units and increased efficiency.
But the Ukraine war has now underscored yet another “Peaceful Atom” pitfall known for decades—the threat of a rogue nation turning atomic reactors into weapons of apocalyptic mass terror and destruction.
More than 400 commercial nuclear power plants are now licensed worldwide. There are 94 in the US. The destruction of just one, at Diablo Canyon, California, could send lethal fallout pouring across the entire continental United States, while first turning Los Angeles into a radioactive wasteland.
Putin has not estimated precisely how much radioactive fallout might result from blowing up an atomic reactor. But the war in Ukraine has made it clear that it could be done with a single drone costing less than $1,000.
Putin has asked just one question about such an attack: who will stop me?
The answer could be apocalyptic: no reactor, large or small, is anywhere immune.
When Putin sent troops pouring through Belarus into northern Ukraine in 2022, they quickly assaulted the smoldering remains at Chernobyl, which infamously exploded in 1986. The seething core of Unit Four has been covered with a $2 billion sarcophagus funded by downwind European nations.
The original explosion irradiated much of Europe. Airborne clouds were detected twice passing over the U.S., killing birds in California and irradiating milk in New England.
In “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,” published in 2009 by the New York Academy of Sciences,” lead author Dr. Alexey Yablokov, (environmental advisor to Russian Presidents Gorbachev and Yeltsin) drew from 5,000 documents. These included health data, radiological surveys, scientific reports, and more. The conclusion was that as of 2004, as a result of Chernobyl’s fall-out, some 985,000 people had died, mainly of cancer. In the two decades since yet more thousands have been stricken.
In 2022, Putin’s invading troops seemed bound to repeat history. They terrorized and tortured Ukrainian technicians tasked to safeguard Chernobyl’s melted core against another explosion.
Tragically, the Russian soldiers camped in nearby woods, exposing themselves to heavily contaminated dust and soil.
On February 14, 2025, a Russian drone severely damaged Chernobyl’s sarcophagus. Had it hit the melted core, another global-scale radiation release could have again contaminated much of the Earth.
Putin has denied responsibility for that attack. However, he has seized the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia. As at Chernobyl, his troops terrorized, tortured and terminated vital Ukrainian staffers, seriously endangering on-going plant safety.
Zaporizhzhia’s reactors are allegedly shut. But cooling water and backup/off-site power vital to keeping the cores and fuel pools from exploding are tenuous at best. Random munitions and at least one drone have hit the plant.
By cutting transmission lines into Ukraine while running one toward Russia, Putin may soon become Earth’s first autocrat to “steal” an atomic power plant.
He’s further threatened to turn any reactor he wants into a de facto weapon of mass radioactive destruction, saving himself the trouble and expense of a Bombs and missiles.
No atomic reactor anywhere can credibly claim to be immune. The fragility of instrumentation, operational, cooling, spent fuel storage and other vital systems have been amply demonstrated at Chernobyl, Fukushima, Chalk River, Fermi, Three Mile Island, Windscale, INEL, Santa Susanna, Khyshtym, and countless other stricken atomic facilities.
Chernobyl has shown the range and killing power of resultant fallout. Japan’s Fukushima, which exploded on March 11, 2011, has since spewed 100 times more radioactive cesium than did the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Its heavily irradiated liquid wastes are still pouring into the Pacific.
Though vehemently denied by the nuclear industry, the death toll from radiation releases at the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown continues to rise.
Meanwhile Ukraine deploys drones to decimate Putin’s oil and gas infrastructure, utterly ravaging Russia’s refineries, storage tanks, pipelines and more.
With his own drones, Putin has made clear he can target any reactor anywhere.
Safe, clean, green renewable energy technology now accounts for more than 90% of the world’s new energy production. No war monger can destroy a city by blowing up a solar panel or tearing down a wind turbine.
Yet Ukraine itself has four reactors on order, offering Putin still more pre-deployed weapons of radioactive mass destruction.
Likewise, California’s “anti-Trump” Governor Gavin Newsom keeps running uninsured, hyper-expensive nukes at Diablo Canyon that Putin could drone-hit tomorrow, forever bankrupting California, turning Los Angeles and the downwind nation into a permanent radioactive wasteland.
Deep in the bowels of the Kremlin, the nuclear Stalin is laughing.
Karl Grossman is the author of “Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power.” He is the host of the nationally broadcast TV program “Enviro Close-Up with Karl Grossman” (www.envirovideo.com)
Harvey “Sluggo” Wasserman wrote “Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth,” and co-wrote (with Norman Solomon, Bob Alvarez & Eleanor Waters) “Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America’s Experience with Atomic Radiation. His Green Grassroots Election Protection is aired via Zoom (www.grassrootsep.org) on most Mondays at 5 p.m. ET.
Harvey Wasserman wrote the books Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth and The Peoples Spiral of US History. He helped coin the phrase “No Nukes.” He co-convenes the Grassroots Emergency Election Protection Coalition at www.electionprotection2024.org Karl Grossman is the author of Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power and Power Crazy. He the host of the nationally-aired TV program Enviro Close-Up with Karl Grossman (www.envirovideo.com)
Is Russia’s Putin gambling with the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear stations?
Russia and Ukraine have traded blame, accusing one another of imperilling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Aljazeera, By Mansur Mirovalev, 6 Oct 2025
Kyiv, Ukraine – On October 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that Ukrainian attacks had destroyed a high-voltage transmission line between the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine and Kyiv-controlled areas.
Days earlier, Ukraine’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian shelling had cut the plant off from the electricity network.
The mammoth, six-reactor plant – Europe’s largest and known in Ukraine as the ZAES – sits less than 10km (6.2 miles) south of the front line. It has been shut since 2022, generating none of the electricity that once provided up to a fifth of Ukraine’s needs.
But dozens of Moscow-deployed engineers have frantically tried to restart it – so far unsuccessfully. Ukraine has long feared that Russia is trying to connect the power grid and quench a thirst for energy in Crimea and other occupied areas.
Putin purported that the alleged Ukrainian strikes caused a blackout at the plant and that it had to be fuelled by diesel generators.
The latest blackout at the plant is the longest wartime outage of power.
“On the [Ukrainian] side, people should understand that if they play so dangerously, they have an operating nuclear power station on their side,” Putin told a forum in St Petersburg.
‘The radioactivity is so powerful’
In fact, apart from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine has three operating power stations – as well as the shutdown Chornobyl facility, the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.
“And what prevents us from mirroring [Ukraine’s alleged actions] in response? Let them think about it,” Putin said.
His threat had apparently already been fulfilled a day earlier. Ukraine accused Russia of shelling that damaged the power supply to the colossal protective “sarcophagus” over the Chornobyl station’s Reactor Four that exploded in 1986.
Both the Chornobyl station and the plant in Zaporizhzhia need electricity for their safety systems and, most importantly, for the uninterrupted circulation of water that cools nuclear fuel.
The fuel, thousands of uranium rods that keep emitting heat, are too radioactive to be taken anywhere else.
In Chornobyl, the fuel is spent and submerged in cooling ponds or “dry-stored” in ventilated, secured facilities.
But at the Zaporizhzhia site, the rods are still inside the reactors – and are newer, hotter, and made in the United States…………………………………………………………………………………
The biggest problem is Russia’s failure to hook the plant to the energy grid of occupied regions as Ukrainian forces pin-pointedly destroy the transmission lines Russia is building – along with fuel depots and thermal power stations, he said.
“The Russians are restoring them any way they can, but Ukrainian forces very much prevent the restoration,” the engineer quipped.
Bellona, a Norway-based nuclear monitor, said on October 2 that a “greater danger lies in Moscow’s potential use of the crisis to justify reconnecting the plant to its own grid – portraying itself as the saviour preventing a nuclear disaster”.
Should Moscow do that, the step would only “worsen [the] strategic situation, give Moscow additional leverage, and bring a potential restart closer – a move that, amid ongoing fighting, would itself sharply increase the risk of a nuclear accident,” it said.
Analysts pointed to a deal proposed by US President Donald Trump in March to transfer the plant to US management as a possible solution.
Ukrainian strikes “will go on until Russia makes a peace deal that also includes US control over the ZAES and its operation”, Nikolay Mitrokhin, a researcher with Germany’s University of Bremen, told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, blackouts in Crimea have become unpredictable and distressing, a Crimea local told Al Jazeera…………..
Russia understands that improved power supply is a prerequisite for its efforts to restore occupied Ukrainian regions and conquer more Ukrainian land, said an observer.
Moscow needs the plant to “cover the growing [energy] consumption in the region, considering not just occupied Crimea, but also the occupied areas [above the Sea of] Azov. And also within the context of Russia’s plan to occupy part of the Zaporizhia region,” Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kushch told Al Jazeera.
Greenpeace said that its detailed analysis of high-resolution satellite images taken after what Putin alleged were Ukrainian strikes showed that he was bluffing.
“There is no evidence of any military strikes in the area surrounding the pylons and network of power lines in this part of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the international environmentalist group said on October 1.
The images showed that the power towers remained in position and there were no craters left by explosions around the lines, it said.
Greenpeace concluded that the blackout at the plant is “a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia” whose aim is to “permanently disconnect the plant from the Ukraine grid and connect the nuclear plant to the grid occupied by Russia”. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/6/is-russias-putin-gambling-with-the-safety-of-ukraines-nuclear-stations
Kremlin welcomes Trump’s comments to extend nuclear arms pact
The Kremlin has welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Russia’s offer to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States, saying it raises hope for keeping the pact alive after it expires in February
ByVLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press, October 7, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kremlin-welcomes-trumps-comments-putins-offer-extend-new-126253222
MOSCOW — MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Monday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Russia’s offer to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States, saying it raises hope for keeping the pact alive after it expires in February.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his readiness to adhere to nuclear arms limits under the 2010 New START arms reduction treaty for one more year, and he urged Washington to follow suit. When asked about the proposal, Trump said Sunday it “sounds like a good idea to me.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed Trump’s statement, noting that “it gives grounds for optimism that the United States will support President Putin’s initiative.”
While offering to extend the New START agreement, Putin said its expiration would be destabilizing and could fuel proliferation of nuclear weapons. He also argued that maintaining limits on nuclear weapons could also be an important step in “creating an atmosphere conducive to substantive strategic dialogue with the U.S.”
The Russian leader reaffirmed the offer Thursday, noting that Russia and the U.S. could use the one-year extension to work on a possible successor pact.
Such an agreement will involve complex talks that could deal with battlefield nuclear weapons and prospective strategic weapons systems that Russia has developed, Putin said.
“We haven’t forgotten about anything that we have planned, the work is ongoing and it will produce results,” he declared at a forum of international foreign policy experts.
He mentioned the longtime U.S. push for including China in any prospective nuclear arms control pact but emphasized that it’s up to Washington to try to persuade Beijing to do so. China has rejected the idea, arguing that its nuclear arsenals are far smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia.
Putin also argued that the nuclear arsenals of NATO members Britain and France should be included in a prospective agreement.
He noted at the forum that some in the U.S. oppose New START’s extension, and “if they don’t need it, we don’t need it either. We feel confident about our nuclear shield.”
Putin’s offer came at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the West, with concerns rising that fighting in Ukraine could spread beyond its borders.
The New START, signed by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The pact also stipulates the need for on-site inspections to verify compliance, although inspections were halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed.
The treaty was originally supposed to expire in 2021 but was extended for five years.
Arms control advocates long have voiced concern about the treaty’s looming expiration and the lack of dialogue to secure a successor deal, warning of the possibility of a new nuclear arms race and the increased risk of a nuclear conflict.
UK Parliament blocks Declassified, citing our Gaza ‘standpoint’
MPs condemn ‘sinister move’ to deny access to Declassified reporters.
Martin Williams, Declassified UK, 23 September 2025
Parliament has been accused of an “outrageous abuse” that is “worthy of the Trump White House”, after blocking Declassified from holding a media pass.
Internal emails reveal that officials cited our “in-depth investigations… from a particular standpoint”, when rejecting our application.
They also flagged a recent investigation we published that raised concerns over pro-Israel bias in Westminster.
This is despite parliamentary authorities having a duty to remain politically impartial. Guidelines say that passes should be granted with “fair access across a range of outlets”.
The decision to deny Declassified access has been criticised by politicians across the political spectrum, including Labour, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, and the Independent Alliance.
Almost 500 journalists currently hold a pass, which provides unfettered access to Westminster and daily government briefings. They include many from right-wing outlets like Guido Fawkes and GB News.
When Declassified’s application for a pass was first rejected, officials blamed space and capacity “due to limitations within the Parliamentary estate”.
But documents released under the Freedom of Information Act now reveal there is no limit to the number of press passes that can be issued – and capacity was not even discussed as a consideration.
In fact, at least three other journalists have been granted parliamentary passes since Declassified’s application was rejected.
In a bizarre attempt to justify the ban, documents also reveal that officials claimed Declassified’s focus on UK foreign policy does not count as “politics”.
An internal email said: “They are not specifically a politics organisation, as their main focus is around foreign affairs.”
‘Outrageous abuse’
Several politicians condemned the decision by parliament – and warned against “selectively silencing journalists”.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, said: “Declassified have done outstanding, vital work exposing the scale of British complicity in Israeli war crimes.
“A healthy democracy rests on transparency and accountability. What does Britain have to hide?”
Liz Saville-Roberts, the leader of Plaid Cymru, said that parliament “should be proud to make itself open to investigative journalists”……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Threats
The decision to reject Declassified‘s media pass application was finalised by the Sergeant At Arms, Ugbana Oyet. But records suggest it was based on advice from the House of Commons press office, who highlighted the “standpoint” of Declassified’s coverage.
When we sent a “right of reply”, with advance notice of this article, the press office flatly denied the evidence contained in the internal emails. This is despite the fact they were disclosed by parliament itself, under the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials even threatened regulatory action against Declassified if we failed to publish a lengthy and misleading statement from a parliamentary spokesperson.
The statement claimed that decisions around press passes “are not based on an outlet’s editorial stance or coverage of any one issue, and any suggestion to the contrary is wholly untrue”.
And when Declassified said we were not prepared to quote from a misleading statement, parliament’s head of media responded: “We’d expect any outlet to use the full response we provide them – and would strongly dispute any suggestion that the statement provided is untrue.”
He added: “We would be happy to follow up with Impress [the media regulator] if our response is not reflected in your coverage.”
He also claimed that our article was based on “incomplete material [which] does not reflect the full picture”. However, if this is true, it suggests that parliament failed to fully comply with Declassified’s Freedom of Information request.
The press office proceeded to ignore further questions and provided no further information.
The spokesperson had said: “The House of Commons supports the work of a free and independent press – providing access and facilities to the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Demand far exceeds capacity here, hence numbers are required to be strictly controlled, whilst ensuring fair access across a range of outlets.
“For applications from an outlet that does not already have a pass, or for a request to increase the allocation given to an outlet, we require a business case to be submitted, details of which are available on our website. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply for a pass one year after their original application, and as Parliament is a public building, journalists are still able to visit, attend and report on proceedings and meet Members without a media pass. Decisions around accreditation are applied consistently across all applications.”
They added: “The range of media outlets currently granted access — spanning the full spectrum of political opinion and including a wide variety of independent and critical journalism — clearly demonstrates that the accreditation process is impartial and rooted solely in operational considerations and editorial relevance to parliamentary proceedings.”
The emails obtained by Declassified strongly suggest this claim is misleading.
We’ve written an open letter calling on parliamentary authorities to urgently review this decision and issue Declassified with a press pass. We also urge parliamentary authorities to review the way that future applications are processed, to avoid any partisan interference with future applications. Please add your name below – [Petition on original] https://www.declassifieduk.org/parliament-blocks-declassified-citing-our-gaza-standpoint/
UK aerospace firm supplying Israel’s defence ministry
Moog in Wolverhampton was targeted by pro-Palestine activists in August. We can now reveal the company has been exporting aircraft components to Israel’s ministry of defence.
JOHN McEVOY, 22 September 2025, https://www.declassifieduk.org/uk-aerospace-firm-supplying-israels-defence-ministry/
Published in partnership with Irish investigative news site The Ditch
On 26 August, four activists from the group ‘Palestinian Martyrs for Justice’ crashed through the gates of a factory in Wolverhampton and climbed onto its rooftop.
The target was Moog, a US-owned engineering company which designs and manufactures components for military aircraft worldwide.
Wearing t-shirts with the faces of Palestinians killed by Israel, the activists proceeded to cut through Moog’s roof covering and peer into the factory floor below.
They accused the company of supplying Israel’s largest arms firm Elbit Systems with aircraft parts “used to train Israeli pilots to fly F-16 and F-35 fighter jets”.
Declassified and The Ditch had previously reported how Moog sent at least ten shipments of trainer aircraft parts to an Elbit Systems site in Israel between December 2024 and July 2025.
But it can now be revealed that Moog has also been directly supplying Israel’s ministry of defence with components used to train Israeli pilots to fly advanced fighter jets.
Cargo documents expose how the aerospace firm sent two shipments for the M-346 Lavi programme in July 2025, with the address corresponding to Israel’s defence ministry in Tel Aviv.
The M-346 Lavi is a high-performance aircraft designed to train Israeli pilots to fly jets including the F-16 and F-35.
It is estimated that the value of the two shipments could be over £200,000. The total value of Moog exports to Israel since December 2024 is likely in excess of £1m.
2,000lb bombs
The revelation details how the UK government, through its arms export regime, is facilitating the training of Israeli pilots to fly the aircraft dropping 2,000lb bombs on civilians.
This is despite the government having claimed it suspended export licences for equipment that could be used by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Last week, trade minister Chris Bryant attempted to justify this approach, saying: “The assessment is that the training of an aircraft pilot on such equipment would take so long that they wouldn’t be the people that would be engaged in fighter combat in Gaza”.
Bryant did not clarify how the government reached this conclusion, but it appears to be misleading.
A US air force report recently estimated that it could take four to six months to train Ukrainian fighter pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. These same aircraft have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza, including in an attack on British doctors in January 2024.
Moreover, Bryant’s argument falsely suggests a known end date of the Gaza genocide, and appears to assume that Israeli pilots will only be using UK-made equipment at the beginning of their training.
Declassified approached the Department for Business and Trade as well as the Foreign Office for clarification on Bryant’s comments.
We specifically asked whether Bryant’s comments accurately reflected the government’s position, and on what basis it is estimated that Israeli pilots training on UK-made components will not go on to use fighter aircraft in Gaza.
The trade department failed to provide any meaningful answers, while the Foreign Office did not respond at all.
M-346 Lavi
Israel received its first M-346 Lavi in 2014, with an additional 29 arriving over the following two years. They are hosted at Hatzerim airbase near Be’er Sheva.
Promotional content shows how the jet not only trains pilots to fly, but also helps them master combat techniques. It is equipped with a “digital avionics system” which is modelled on advanced military aircraft such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35.
Its cockpit includes a head-up display which is common in fighter jets, and the aircraft can be armed with practice air-to-ground bombs and a gun pod for live fire training.
One of the first instructors to use the jet, Brigadier General Avi Maor, has said: “It’s very easy to make the transition from the M-346 to a real jet fighter because it’s very similar to the fighters.
“You learn how to fight and then do the transition to the real fighter. You don’t need to learn how to fight again with the real fighter, so you save a lot of hours”.
By 2022, the Israeli air force had racked up 50,000 flight hours with the M-346 Lavi, making it the largest user of the jet in the world.
In addition to supplying parts for the M-346, Moog has contributed to the global F-35 programme.
Previous company annual reports note how Moog “provides actuators, power drive electronics, control electronics and software” for the F-35 fighter jet.
Moog was approached for comment.
Workers shut down Italy again in solidarity with Palestine
Hundreds of thousands joined a new general strike across Italy, in solidarity with the people of Gaza and the Global Sumud Flotilla.
October 03, 2025 by Peoples Dispatch, https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/10/03/workers-shut-down-italy-again-in-solidarity-with-palestine/
Hundreds of thousands of people have again taken to the streets of Italy in response to a general strike call originally launched by the grassroots union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) and later joined by some of the country’s largest trade union confederations. As they blocked ports, highways, and industrial zones, protesters delivered a resounding rejection of Giorgia Meloni’s government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, demanding an immediate end to the attacks and the release of activists kidnapped from the Global Sumud Flotilla.
“Tens of thousands of people took to the streets for the general strike in support of Palestine: this is a huge success,” Giuliano Granato of the left party Potere al Popolo reported from one of the marches. “It shows that there is a majority in the country that is fighting for Palestine and doing what our government has not dared to do for two years.”
The strike came just days after Israeli forces assaulted dozens of vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, detaining activists, including several Italians. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other officials failed to act decisively for their protection or release. Instead, they implied Israel had acted with measure and tried to shift the blame on the flotilla for continuing its humanitarian mission despite threats. The government’s attempt to present itself as “sovereignist” fell apart in the face of these events. “This is not a government of sovereignists. This is a government that bows down and prostrates itself before Israel,” Granato said.
In several cities, demonstrators faced heavy police repression. In Padua, more than 10,000 protesters occupying the industrial zone were attacked with water cannons and tear gas. “The march stayed united and we are continuing the blockade,” one participant said. “We want an end to complicity. We want a free Palestine.”
Protesters in Bologna and Naples also pushed through police lines to occupy strategic points. In Naples, at least 50,000 people seized part of the port despite heavy policing. In Bologna, 150,000 blocked major roads. “This is the response of the people to Israel expanding the war, to the government repressing us, to those who want to divide us into good and bad,” Potere al Popolo’s Bologna chapter wrote. “Let’s center our priorities around those who keep this country going every day, with precarious lives, low wages, and insecure jobs. Instead of rearmament and alliances with Israel, let’s lay down arms and raise salaries!”
Union leaders echoed the calls. Maurizio Landini, head of the confederation CGIL, stated: “There are no rights, there is no dignity without peace. True security does not mean increasing spending on weapons, but investing in public health, education, employment, and the redistribution of wealth.”
The strike raised demands for a full arms embargo on Israel, the severing of all ties with the occupation authorities, and an immediate end to the genocide. And there is no end in sight for the mobilization – those who joined the strike are already preparing for Saturday’s national demonstration in Rome, where they will again assert their solidarity and determination to see a free Palestine.
Nuclear disaster fears as expert highlights ‘fragile’ Zaporizhzhia power plant system
Europe’s largest nuclear plant is on the brink of disaster if total power loss is achieved, with experts saying that it is a fragile situation that needs monitoring
Ciaran McGrath and Zesha Saleem, 04 Oct 2025, https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/nuclear-disaster-fears-expert-highlights-36013152
A nuclear plant faces the risk of meltdown from it’s longest blackout since 2022, with experts cautioning about a single power line’s dangerous vulnerability. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost its last connection to the external grid on September 23.
This makes it the 10th outage since the war began, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Since Friday, the plant’s six reactors were inactive as it remained in a cold shutdown, but it still needs regular electricity to keep cooling systems on for spent nuclear fuel.
The scenario was described as “clearly not sustainable in terms of nuclear safety” by AEA Director General Rafael Grossi during talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials this week.
Nickolas Roth of the Nuclear Threat Initiative think tank highlighted the fragility of the plant’s power infrastructure.
He told Express.co.uk : “For much of this year, the site has relied on a single functioning transmission line instead of multiple redundant connections.
“That creates a single point of failure: if that one line goes down, the plant loses the electricity needed to keep cooling and safety systems operating.”
The shutdown has been due to fighting near the location, with Ukraine accusing Russian forces of shelling the last remaining 750 kV power line. On Wednesday, a Greenpeace satellite investigation uncovered no major damage to the line, fuelling speculation of sabotage.
Moscow denied the claims. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described them as “stupid” and emphasised that Russia would not target a facility under its control. ZNPP is Europe’s largest nuclear plant, and was captured by Russian forces in March 2022 and formally annexed by Moscow following disputed referendums later that year.
While it doesn’t generate electricity, it holds tons of spent fuel that must remain submerged in water to prevent overheating.
Mr Roth explained the risks involved if there was a total power loss. He said: “A complete loss of power could lead to fuel overheating if cooling systems fail.”
He added that governments need to “develop plans to ensure the continuity of nuclear security operations during major crises,” including regular exercises practicing extended external threats.
Ukrainian nuclear safety official Dmytro Gumeniuk said: “The fact that it is running on diesel generators already represents a risk. Even if they are refuelled, this is still not a typical situation. Generators can fail, and they must be constantly monitored.”
Under Russian occupation, IAEA access to ZNPP has been restricted, which makes oversight difficult to achieve. The expert added that commitment to IAEA’s five principles on nuclear safety is important.
He said: “The plant should not be used to store or base heavy weapons or military personnel that could be employed for attacks. Off-site power must not be put at risk, and every effort should be made to ensure its availability and security at all times.
“First and foremost, Ukrainian reactor operators must be able to manage the plant without fearing for their lives and the lives of their families. They need safe working conditions and clear lines of communication with their national regulator.”
Trump says Putin’s offer on nuclear arms control ‘sounds like a good idea’
By Andrea Shalal, October 6, 2025, Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Chizu Nomiyama, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-says-putins-offer-nuclear-arms-control-sounds-like-good-idea-2025-10-05/
- Summary
- Putin proposed voluntary limit on nuclear arsenals last month
- US-Russian ties strained despite Trump-Putin summit in August
- Putin warned US against sending long-range missiles to Ukraine
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to voluntarily maintain limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons “sounds like a good idea.”
Putin last month offered to voluntarily maintain limits capping the size of the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals set out in the 2010 New START accord, which expires in February, if the U.S. does the same.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House, when asked about Putin’s offer.
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia last week had said Moscow was still waiting for Trump to respond to Putin’s offer to voluntarily maintain the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons once a key arms control treaty expires.
Any agreement on continuing to limit nuclear arms would stand in contrast to rising tensions between the United States and Russia since Trump and Putin met in Alaska in mid-August given reported incursions of Russian drones into NATO airspace.
Speaking in a video clip released on Sunday, Putin warned that a decision by the United States to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for strikes deep into Russia would destroy Moscow’s relationship with Washington.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said last month that Washington was considering a Ukrainian request to obtain missiles that could strike deep into Russia, including Moscow, though it is unclear if a final decision has been made.
Trump, who has expressed disappointment in Putin for not moving to end the war in Ukraine, was not asked directly on Sunday about the prospect of supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine.
“This will lead to the destruction of our relations, or at least the positive trends that have emerged in these relations,” Putin said in a video clip released on Sunday by Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.
One U.S. official and three other sources told Reuters that the Trump administration’s desire to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine may not be viable because current inventories are committed to the U.S. Navy and other uses.
Trump is touring a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the George H.W. Bush, off the coast of Virginia on Sunday, and will give a speech on a second carrier, the Harry S. Truman, later.
Tomahawk cruise missiles have a range of 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles). If Ukraine got the missiles, the Kremlin and all of European Russia would be within target.
Right-wing Czech politician who promised to cut aid to Ukraine takes lead in parliamentary election .
The right-wing party of agriculture billionaire Andrej Babis, branded ‘Czech Trump’ by local media, has taken the lead in his country’s parliamentary election.
Partial results were released by the Czech Statistical Office several hours after the polls closed across the central European country of 11 million earlier on Saturday.
With ballots from 20% of voting districts counted, Babis’ opposition ANO (Yes) party was ahead with 39.7% of the vote, followed by the Spolu (Together) group led by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala with 19.1%, the agency said.
Babis has been campaigning on a promise to stop Czech military assistance to Kiev, unlike Fiala, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
The 71-year-old, who served as prime minister between 2017 and 2021, has been particularly critical of Prague’s ammunition initiative for Kiev, calling it “overpriced” and insisting that it should be handled by NATO.
He has spoken out against Ukraine’s membership in the EU, as well as Brussels’ handling of immigration and the Green Deal.
The Western media has warned ahead of the vote that with Hungary and Slovakia already refusing to provide military aid to Kiev and advocating for a diplomatic end to the conflict, Babis’ victory in the Czech Republic could tip Central Europe even further away from Brussels on Ukraine and other key issues.
Another ageing Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine completes a 200-day patrol amid fears absence of replacements will make epic voyages ‘the new normal’
Daily Mail, By BY MARK NICOL DEFENCE EDITOR, 3 October 2025
An ageing Royal Navy nuclear submarine has completed a 200-day patrol amid fears of shortages of alternative vessels.
The Vanguard class submarine was welcomed back to port with her hull covered in slime and barnacles.
The marine growth indicated how long the submarine – which carries the UK’s nuclear deterrent – had spent submerged.
Nuclear submarines remain undetected by spending the majority of their time on patrol at very slow speed. This is to minimise their noise signature.
Biofouling as it is also known, can also indicate a submarine has been operating in either shallower or warmer waters.
Nuclear submarine patrols are being extended as Navy chiefs await new vessels.
This submarine was understood to have spent 203 days at sea. Earlier this year another spent 204 days at sea.
While only last year another Vanguard-class submarine broke the 200 day barrier for the first time. At least ten patrols are understood to have exceeded five months.
The trend for extended patrols is dangerous according to Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the recently retired former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).
In his final speech he decried the decrepit state of the Royal Navy’s subsurface fleet at a time when the world is getting more dangerous.
In September Admiral Sir Tony said: ‘Our armed forces are not as strong as we would wish. There is something wrong when governments profess the nuclear deterrent at sea is our highest priority but our sailors are having to put to sea for extraordinarily long patrols in some of the most complex machines on the planet that are beyond their original design life.’……………………….
The oldest of the Vanguard class submarines first put to sea 33 years ago. The vessels have a recommended service life of 25 years.
The physical strain on the Vanguard class submarines is mirrored by the psychological effects on their crews of spending six months and longer at sea.
Each submarine has a crew of around 130 sailors and officers
Experts have also warned of the growing risk of a catastrophic accident as parts are being cannabalised from other submarines which are more than 30 years old…………………………….
The shortage of submarines is also compounded by the length of time it takes to conduct repairs.
The Vanguards will be replaced by Dreadnought submarines – but these are not expected to enter service before the early 2030s……………………… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15159175/Another-ageing-Royal-Navy-nuclear-armed-submarine-completes-200-day-patrol-amid-fears-absence-replacements-make-epic-voyages-new-normal.html
Sellafield nuclear workers to strike over pay
ITV 3rd Oct 2025, https://www.itv.com/news/border/2025-10-03/sellafield-nuclear-workers-to-strike-over-pay
Construction workers at the Sellafield nuclear site are to strike from Saturday in a dispute over pay.
Unite said 1,500 of its members, including electricians, joiners and welders, at the Cumbria site will walk out until 13 October.
The union said other nuclear projects pay premiums it wants Sellafield to match, and it warned of further industrial action if the dispute is not resolved.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members are highly skilled workers operating in an extremely challenging environment.
“That this is the most significant industrial action at Sellafield in recent history speaks volumes about the levels of feeling among the workforce.”
As well as the strikes, a continuous overtime ban will start on 14 October.
Leah McGrath Goodman, Tony Blair and issues on torture (with added radiation)
Published by arclight2011- date 15 Sep 2012 -nuclear-news.net
[…]
Accusations: Despite the mockery of the film Borat, leaked U.S. cables suggest the country was undemocratic and used torture in detention
Other dignitaries at the meeting included former Italian Prime Minister and ex-EU Commission President
Romano Prodi. Mr Mittal’s employees in Kazakhstan have accused him of ‘slave labour’ conditions after a series of coal mining accidents between 2004 and 2007 which led to 91 deaths.
[…]
Last week a senior adviser to the Kazakh president said that Mr Blair had opened an office in the capital.Presidential adviser Yermukhamet Yertysbayev said: ‘A large working group is here and, to my knowledge, it has already opened Tony Blair’s permanent office in Astana.’
It was reported last week that Mr Blair had secured an £8 million deal to clean up the image of Kazakhstan.
[…]
Mr Blair also visited Kazakhstan in 2008, and in 2003 Lord Levy went there to help UK firms win contracts.
[…]
Max Keiser talks to investigative journalist and author, Leah McGrath Goodman about her being banned from the UK for reporting on the Jersey sex and murder scandal. They discuss the $5 billion per square mile in laundered money that means Jersey rises, while Switzerland sinks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA_aVZrR5NI&feature=player_detailpage#t=749s
And as well as protecting the guilty child sex/torturers/murderers of the island of Jersey I believe that they are also protecting the tax dodgers from any association.. its just good PR!
FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair was reportedly involved in helping to keep alive the world’s biggest takeover by Jersey-incorporated commodities trader Glencore of mining company Xstrata.
11/September/2012
[…]
Mr Blair was said to have attended a meeting at Claridge’s Hotel in London towards the end of last week which led to the Qatari Sovereign wealth fund supporting a final revised bid from Glencore for its shareholding. Continue reading
Solar becomes main source of electricity in the EU for first time.
More than half of the EU’s electricity in the second quarter of 2025 came from
renewable energy. Solar energy was the main source of electricity in the
European Union for the first time in history in June, according to new
figures. The renewable energy source accounted for 22 per cent of the
electricity generated in the EU, overtaking nuclear energy, which produced
21.6 per cent of the electricity.
The data from Eurostat, the statistical
office of the EU, showed that more than half of the EU’s electricity in the
second quarter of 2025 came from renewables. Three countries in Europe
managed to generate more than 90 per cent of their electricity from
renewable energy sources, while 15 countries were able to increase the
renewables share in their energy mix compared to the same period last year.
“Denmark, with 94.7 per cent, had the highest share of renewables in net
electricity generated, followed by Latvia (93.4 per cent) [and] Austria
(91.8 per cent),” a Eurostat report noted.
Independent 2nd Oct 2025, https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/solar-power-eu-renewable-energy-b2837926.html
Power fully restored to Chernobyl site
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that power was restored on Thursday morning to the New Safe Confinement at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after 16 hours, following damage to a nearby substation. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the loss of power to the Chernobyl site “once again underlines risks to nuclear safety during the military conflict”.
World Nuclear News 2nd Oct 202, https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/power-fully-restored-to-chernobyl-site
Powering forward the Transatlantic Nuclear Free Alliance
2 Oct 25, https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/powering-forward-the-transatlantic-nuclear-free-alliance/
The UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities were proud to partner with Canadian and United States anti nuclear activists at a lively webinar, kindly hosted and organised by SOS: The San Onofre Syndrome, last Thursday (25 September).
Richard Outram, NFLA Secretary, was humbled to join an online panel of distinguished speakers who are working in opposition to new nuclear plants and nuclear waste dumps in both nations. There was an audience of around 50 activists joining us from across the globe, from Colwyn Bay to Hawaii, who had been invited to view the award-winning film ‘SOS – The San Onofre Syndrome: Nuclear Power’s Legacy’.
This time the focus was upon examining the situation in Canada.
Britain’s Nuclear Waste Services, being responsible for locating and building an undersea repository for our nation’s legacy and future high-level radioactive waste – the so called Geological Disposal Facility – has established strong ties with its Canadian counterparts, the Nuclear Waste Management Organisation which has determined to build a similar, though inland and underground, repository – called a Deep Geological Repository – at Ignace in Ontario.
Dr Gordon Edwards is a mathematician, physicist, nuclear consultant, and president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (https://www.ccnr.org). CCNR is a not-for-profit organization, federally incorporated in 1978, dedicated to education and research on all issues related to nuclear energy, whether civilian or military — including non-nuclear alternatives — especially those pertaining to Canada. He is based in Montreal.
Brennain Lloyd from We the Nuclear Free North (https://wethenuclearfreenorth.ca/) is a community organizer, public interest researcher and writer. For the last 30 plus years, Brennain has worked with environmental, peace and women’s organizations as a facilitator and adult educator supporting public participation in environmental and natural resource decision-making and various planning processes. She is based in northeastern Ontario.
The panel was also joined by Team SOS in the United States, namely
Mary Beth Brangan and James Heddle, who are award-winning filmmakers of ‘SOS – The San Onofre Syndrome: Nuclear Power’s Legacy’ and co-directors of EON – the Ecological Options Network (https://www.eon3.org) and Morgan Peterson is an Oscar-nominated producer/director and director/editor of ‘SOS – The San Onofre Syndrome’. Mary Beth and James are based in Northern California, USA, whilst Morgan is based in Indiana, USA.
Richard is delighted that colleagues in the USA are looking to start work to build a network of nuclear free local authorities based on the model established from 1981 in the UK and Ireland.
It is almost 45 years since Manchester declared itself the world’s first nuclear free city and hosted the Secretariat of the Nuclear Free Local Authorities. Many cities across the globe followed Manchester’s lead in making similar declarations, many notably in the United States. It would be gratifying if these nuclear free cities could take the lead in establishing a new network across the Atlantic.
Richard said: “The purpose of establishing this Transatlantic Nuclear Free Alliance was to bring together anti-nuclear activists from both sides of the huge ocean which physically divides us in an online forum where we can share information on developments, support one another with campaigns, celebrate our successes, and share our common goals for a nuclear-free, peaceful and sustainable world.
“The UK / Ireland NFLAs would be delighted if from this meeting our colleagues in the United States could begin work to build their own network of nuclear free municipalities and we stand ready to lend support to such an initiative, where we can”.
Lisa Smithline from Moca Media TV, who ably performed the critical job of facilitating the event, summarised the event: “It was a deep and meaningful conversation. The feedback has been extremely positive, people are hungry for this information, the attendees didn’t want it to end!”
A future event will be held in around two months’ time – so do watch out for the invitation.
If you would like to attend and are not yet on the NFLA mailing list for news and future events, please email Richard Outram at richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk
In the meantime, the 25 September event can be viewed online at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Y3wQ_8YDumxukIDLCS5_uuBpUxnuYe9SbUHTF2PhVWEmPtE0Id2qNglFWDShT91n.dY8SN70Lrx5xxyqc
Passcode: RgMr442*
1 This Month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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