Russia Shuts Down Nuclear Plant Reactor Unit After Malfunction
Nov 16, 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/russia-shuts-down-nuclear-reactor-malfunction-1844413
Russia has reported the shutdown of a unit at a nuclear power plant after turbine blades broke.
Rosenergoatom, which runs Russia’s nuclear power stations, said it was not clear what caused the blades to malfunction at the Leningrad nuclear power plant west of St Petersburg on Sunday.
“The main thing now is to understand the reason for the destruction of the blades. This is a new phenomenon,” Alexander Shutikov, head of Rosenergoatom, told Reuters. Repairs should be completed by December 22, he said.
The unit where the malfunction occurred was built in 2018 with a next-generation VVER 1200, a pressurised water reactor, according to the news agency.
Russia is building units of this type at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey. They are also planned for the Paks-2 plant in Hungary. Russia has already supplied such units to Belarus.
The blades that failed were part of a 1,200-megawatt high-speed steam turbine, Shutikov told Reuters.
The turbines are produced by Power Machines, owned by Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov who was sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turbines of the same type had operated without problems since 2016 at four power units, Power Machines told Reuters.
The company said it was taking steps to restart the affected unit as soon as possible and working with specialists to investigate the causes. “Based on the results, conclusions will be drawn and compensatory measures will be determined,” the company said.
Newsweek has contacted Rosenergoatom and Power Machines for further comment via email.
Earlier this week, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said Hungary needed to reduce its reliance on Russian energy because it left the country open to influence from Russia.
Speaking during Politico’s Sustainability Future Week summit on Tuesday, Simson said it was regrettable that Hungary was proceeding with construction of the Paks-2 nuclear reactor. The work is reportedly being financed with a 10-billion euro ($11.3 billion) loan from a Russian state bank.
“Our clear request to them is that like other member states, who are still using Russian technology, that nuclear fleet, they have to prepare a plan how to diversify,” Simson said.
The European Union and other Western leaders have largely shunned Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with him in October.
Orbán has been keen to maintain ties with Moscow—on which Hungary is highly dependant for natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel—and has been critical of Western sanctions against Russia.
How the United States and its NATO allies sabotaged a peace between Russia and Ukraine.
A Son of the New American Revolution, 14 November 2023 by Larry Johnson
We now know that the United States played the primary role in sabotaging the March 29, 2022 tentative peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine thanks to the recently published article by Hajo Funke and Harald Kujat, HOW THE CHANCE WAS LOST FOR A PEACE SETTLEMENT OF THE UKRAINE WAR — AND THE WEST WANTED TO CONTINUE THE WAR INSTEAD. The United States persuaded its NATO allies that pursuing the war against Russia, using Ukraine as a proxy, offered a legitimate opportunity to destroy Russia. You want a definition of evil? This is it. Instead of helping end the war between Russia and Ukraine, the United States and its NATO puppets condemned hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers to death in a war with Russia they could not win.
In the course of strong arming Ukraine’s Zelensky into rejecting the peace agreement, the West prepared and launched a propaganda campaign that claimed that Ukrainian military forces defeated the Russian forces and compelled them to retreat. It was a lie. As you will read in the timeline below, Putin ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces starting on April 1, 2022 as a good faith gesture about Russia’s seriousness in complying with the 29 March Istanbul Agreement.
Chalk this up as one more massive war crime by the United States and NATO. They are accessories to murder. I have summarized the timeline presented in the Funke/Kujat article if you do not have time to read it in its entirety. I also am republishing their piece for your convenience. All of the death and destruction experienced in Ukraine and Russia could have been avoided. But the West was intent on dethroning Putin and carving up Russia. Once you understand this point I think you will appreciate that Putin and his Generals are no longer of a mind to give the West the benefit of the doubt. Destroying NATO’s designs on Ukraine is now their chief aim in my view.
March 4, 2022 — Putin and Naftali Bennet speak via phone.
March 5, 2022 — At Putin’s invitation, former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett flew to Moscow. Putin, Bennett said, had made some substantial concessions, in particular, he had renounced his original wartime goal of demilitarizing Ukraine. … .In return, the Ukrainian president agreed to renounce joining NATO. The Ukrainians did not agree to peace because they were not allowed to. They first had to ask the Americans about everything they discussed.”
March 6, 2022 — Bennett and Scholz met in Berlin; on March 7, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany discussed the issue in a videoconference; on
March 8, 2022 — Macron and Scholz spoke on the phone; on
March 10, 2022 — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met in Ankara; on
March 12, 2022 — Scholz and Zelensky and Scholz and Macron spoke on the phone; and on
March 14, 2022 — Scholz and Erdogan met in Ankara.
March 15-19, 2022 — Only a month after the outbreak of the war, Ukraine and Russia agreed on the broad outlines of a peace settlement. Ukraine promised not to join NATO and not to allow military bases of foreign powers on its territory, while Russia promised in return to recognize Ukraine’s territorial integrity and to withdraw all Russian occupation troops. Special arrangements were made for the Donbas and Crimea.”
March 24, 2022 — NATO decided at a special summit on March 24, 2022, not to support these peace negotiations.
March 27, 2022 — Zelensky defended the results of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in public before Russian journalists
March 28, 2022 — Putin, as a sign of goodwill and in support of the peace negotiations, declared readiness to withdraw troops from the Kharkov area and the Kiev area
29 March, 2002 — Turkiye’s President Erdogan hosted a Ukrainian-Russian peace conference in Istanbul and an armistice agreement was approved in principle.
April 1, 2022 — Putin orders Russian troops to initiate withdrawal from Kiev and Kharkiv in show of good faith in accordance with the armistice agreed to in Istanbul.
April 5, 2022 — NATO was firm in its position that continuing the war is preferred to a cease-fire and negotiated settlement: “For some in NATO, it’s better for Ukrainians to keep fighting and dying than to achieve a peace that comes too soon or at too high a price for Kiev and the rest of Europe.”
April 6, 2022 — Russia completes withdrawal from Kiev suburbs and Kharkiv.
April 9, 2022 — Boris Johnson arrived unannounced in Kiev and told the Ukrainian president that the West was not ready to end the war.
April 25, 2022 — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. wants to use the opportunity to permanently weaken Russia militarily and economically in the wake of the Ukraine war.
April 26, 2022 — Meeting with defense ministers from NATO members and other countries convened by Austin in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate/ Germany, the Pentagon chief declared the military victory of Ukraine as a strategic goal.
April 28, 2022 — According to Britain’s Guardian, PM Johnson “instructed” Ukrainian President Zelensky “not to make any concessions to Putin.”
HOW THE UNITED STATES AND ITS NATO ALLIES SABOTAGED PEACE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE
14 November 2023 by Larry Johnson 127 Comments
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We now know that the United States played the primary role in sabotaging the March 29, 2022 tentative peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine thanks to the recently published article by Hajo Funke and Harald Kujat, HOW THE CHANCE WAS LOST FOR A PEACE SETTLEMENT OF THE UKRAINE WAR — AND THE WEST WANTED TO CONTINUE THE WAR INSTEAD. The United States persuaded its NATO allies that pursuing the war against Russia, using Ukraine as a proxy, offered a legitimate opportunity to destroy Russia. You want a definition of evil? This is it. Instead of helping end the war between Russia and Ukraine, the United States and its NATO puppets condemned hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers to death in a war with Russia they could not win.
In the course of strong arming Ukraine’s Zelensky into rejecting the peace agreement, the West prepared and launched a propaganda campaign that claimed that Ukrainian military forces defeated the Russian forces and compelled them to retreat. It was a lie. As you will read in the timeline below, Putin ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces starting on April 1, 2022 as a good faith gesture about Russia’s seriousness in complying with the 29 March Istanbul Agreement.
Chalk this up as one more massive war crime by the United States and NATO. They are accessories to murder. I have summarized the timeline presented in the Funke/Kujat article if you do not have time to read it in its entirety. I also am republishing their piece for your convenience. All of the death and destruction experienced in Ukraine and Russia could have been avoided. But the West was intent on dethroning Putin and carving up Russia. Once you understand this point I think you will appreciate that Putin and his Generals are no longer of a mind to give the West the benefit of the doubt. Destroying NATO’s designs on Ukraine is now their chief aim in my view.
March 4, 2022 — Putin and Naftali Bennet speak via phone.
March 5, 2022 — At Putin’s invitation, former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett flew to Moscow. Putin, Bennett said, had made some substantial concessions, in particular, he had renounced his original wartime goal of demilitarizing Ukraine. … .In return, the Ukrainian president agreed to renounce joining NATO. The Ukrainians did not agree to peace because they were not allowed to. They first had to ask the Americans about everything they discussed.”
March 6, 2022 — Bennett and Scholz met in Berlin; on March 7, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany discussed the issue in a videoconference; on
March 8, 2022 — Macron and Scholz spoke on the phone; on
March 10, 2022 — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met in Ankara; on
March 12, 2022 — Scholz and Zelensky and Scholz and Macron spoke on the phone; and on
March 14, 2022 — Scholz and Erdogan met in Ankara.
March 15-19, 2022 — Only a month after the outbreak of the war, Ukraine and Russia agreed on the broad outlines of a peace settlement. Ukraine promised not to join NATO and not to allow military bases of foreign powers on its territory, while Russia promised in return to recognize Ukraine’s territorial integrity and to withdraw all Russian occupation troops. Special arrangements were made for the Donbas and Crimea.”
March 24, 2022 — NATO decided at a special summit on March 24, 2022, not to support these peace negotiations.
March 27, 2022 — Zelensky defended the results of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in public before Russian journalists
March 28, 2022 — Putin, as a sign of goodwill and in support of the peace negotiations, declared readiness to withdraw troops from the Kharkov area and the Kiev area
29 March, 2002 — Turkiye’s President Erdogan hosted a Ukrainian-Russian peace conference in Istanbul and an armistice agreement was approved in principle.
April 1, 2022 — Putin orders Russian troops to initiate withdrawal from Kiev and Kharkiv in show of good faith in accordance with the armistice agreed to in Istanbul.
April 5, 2022 — NATO was firm in its position that continuing the war is preferred to a cease-fire and negotiated settlement: “For some in NATO, it’s better for Ukrainians to keep fighting and dying than to achieve a peace that comes too soon or at too high a price for Kiev and the rest of Europe.”
April 6, 2022 — Russia completes withdrawal from Kiev suburbs and Kharkiv.
April 9, 2022 — Boris Johnson arrived unannounced in Kiev and told the Ukrainian president that the West was not ready to end the war.
April 25, 2022 — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. wants to use the opportunity to permanently weaken Russia militarily and economically in the wake of the Ukraine war.
April 26, 2022 — Meeting with defense ministers from NATO members and other countries convened by Austin in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate/ Germany, the Pentagon chief declared the military victory of Ukraine as a strategic goal.
April 28, 2022 — According to Britain’s Guardian, PM Johnson “instructed” Ukrainian President Zelensky “not to make any concessions to Putin.”
BEGIN FUNKE AND KUJAT ARTICLE
Berlin, October 2023
In March 2022, direct peace negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations and mediation efforts by the then Israeli Prime Minster, Naftali Bennet created a genuine chance for ending the war peacefully only four to five weeks after Russia had invaded Ukraine. However, instead of ending the war through negotiations as Ukrainian President Zelensky and his government appeared to have wanted, he ultimately bowed to pressures from some Western powers to abandon a negotiated solution. Western powers wanted this war to continue in the hope to break Russia. Ukraine’s decision to abandon negotiations may been taken before the discovery of a massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha near Kiev.
In the following is an attempt of a step-by-step reconstruction of the events that led to the peace negotiations in March and their collapse in early April 2022…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
CONCLUSION: MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Based on the publicly available reports and documents, it is not only plain that there was a serious willingness to negotiate on the part of both Ukraine and Russia in March 2022. Apparently, the negotiating parties even agreed on a draft treaty ad referendum. Zelensky and Putin were ready for a bilateral meeting to finalize the outcome of the negotiations. Fact is that the main results of the negotiations were based on a proposal by Ukraine, and Zelenskyy courageously supported them in an interview with Russian journalists on March 27, 2022, even after NATO decided against these peace negotiations. Zelensky had already expressed similar support beforehand in a sign that proves that the intended outcome of the Istanbul negotiations certainly corresponded to Ukrainian interests. This makes the Western intervention, which prevented an early end to the war, even more disastrous for Ukraine. Russia’s responsibility for the attack, which was contrary to international law, is not relativized by the fact that responsibility for the grave consequences that Ukraine’s Western supporters that ensued must also be attributed to the states that demanded the continuation of the war. The war has now reached a stage where further dangerous escalation and an expansion of hostilities can only be prevented by a cease-fire. It may now be the last time that a peaceful resolution through negotiations could be achieved. There are peace proposals from China, the African Union, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and a proposal developed at the invitation of the Vatican as early as June 2022. On 3 October this year, we presented the German Government our own peace proposal that tried to incorporate all other peace proposals made earlier. See Ending the war by a negotiated peace – Legitimate self-defense and the quest for a just and lasting peace are not contradictory HERE.
Since the failed Istanbul negotiations The course of the war and the current extremely critical timing should be reason enough for a responsible world community and UN member states to rethink and press for a ceasefire and peace negotiations. https://sonar21.com/how-the-chance-was-lost-for-a-peace-settlement-of-the-ukraine-war/
The Uzbek nuclear endeavour: Boon or bane for Central Asia?
Eu Reporter, NOVEMBER 13, 2023
In the shadow of the Uzbek-Kazakh border, in a region prone to seismic tremors, Uzbekistan has unveiled plans to construct a nuclear power plant with significant help from Russia. This decision, given Russia’s current war in Ukraine and its resultant sanctions by Western nations, stirs unease and scepticism, writes Alan Kosh in International Policy Digest.
Beyond geopolitical ramifications, there are substantial concerns that this project might disrupt the environmental equilibrium and investment climate throughout Central Asia, further exacerbating regional security tensions. One of the glaring consequences of this alliance is not merely its economic implications but the potential for Uzbekistan to be ensnared in a “strategic dependency” on Russia.
In this geopolitical chessboard, Moscow, already wielding influence through avenues like labour migration, natural gas, and petrochemical products, stands to gain control over nuclear fuel production and the upkeep of the upcoming nuclear facility.
The proposed plant’s location is by Lake Tuzkan, part of the Aydar-Arnasay lake system, a mere 40 kilometres from the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border. Alarmingly, Tashkent, a bustling city home to three million residents, is just 140 kilometres away. Experts have voiced concerns over the plant’s positioning without proper windrose calculations and in an earthquake hotspot, where magnitudes can range from 6.0 to 6.5 and even higher.
Furthermore, Uzbekistan’s seismic activity is widespread. Several towns, including Jizzak and settlements near the proposed plant, lie in earthquake-sensitive zones, with some tremors potentially hitting a catastrophic 9 on the Richter scale.
Some posit that the mountainous terrain would shield Uzbekistan from any airborne radioactive emissions in the event of a nuclear disaster. However, the ensuing contaminated water would invariably flow towards the Kazakh plains, infiltrating deep into the earth.
Kazakh ecologist Timur Yeleusizov articulates the anxieties many share: the consequences of potential contamination of water bodies in an accident scenario. “Seismological activity in the area of the selected NPP site raises many questions. Who will be responsible for everything that happens in the event of accidents or leaks? After all, rivers and lakes, including underground streams, will also be contaminated with toxic substances.”………………………………………………………..
Rosatom’s claim regarding the VVER-1200 reactor’s safety post-Fukushima has been challenged by European nuclear safety experts, pointing to significant design and safety flaws. This, coupled with a lack of licensing in Western nations, raises red flags.
Despite public petitions against the nuclear power plant, spearheaded by Uzbek activist Akzam Akhmedbaev, the movement hasn’t gained significant traction. Anvarmirzo Khusainov, a former Uzbek minister turned environmentalist, opines on Russia’s strategic manoeuvring in Central Asia, highlighting the long-term maintenance and security implications of such plants.
…………………………… While Kazakhstan contemplates a national referendum on nuclear energy, Uzbekistan’s decision circumvented public consultation. This sidestepping is concerning, especially given the inherent risks and costs associated with nuclear power.
As the plant’s blueprint progresses, environmental concerns loom large, notably the potential drop in water levels in the Aydar-Arnasay Lake system, crucial for cooling the reactors. Yeleusizov emphasizes the region’s acute water scarcity, arguing that water concerns overshadow energy needs and thus warrant project reconsideration.
Uzbekistan’s nuclear aspirations, set against the backdrop of Central Asia’s quest for unity and peace, present a conundrum. The presence of a Russian-backed nuclear facility amidst escalating global conflicts raises alarms. Wilder Alejandro Sánchez’s contemplative piece, “Does Uzbekistan Need a Nuclear Power Plant?” mirrors these anxieties. As the world teeters on the brink of potential nuclear calamity, the urgency to address these concerns and the associated regional ramifications cannot be understated. https://www.eureporter.co/world/uzbekistan/2023/11/13/the-uzbek-nuclear-endeavor-boon-or-bane-for-central-asia/
Something fishy: Welsh Councils excluded from latest Hinkley Point C Consultation.
The Welsh capital of Cardiff may lie less than 20 miles as
the fish swims from the site of the huge Hinkley Point C nuclear power
station now under construction on the coast in Somerset, but French-owned
EDF is choosing not to consult with the City Council on its latest plan to
vary its Development Consent Order (DCO).
Cardiff is not the only Welsh
council excluded from the list of consultees that the operator has agreed
with the UK Government should be solicited for their views on the changes,
for in fact most of the local authorities in South Wales which border onto
the Severn Estuary – Bridgend, Newport, Port Talbot, Swansea, and the
Vale of Glamorgan – are excluded.
To the Welsh Nuclear Free Local
Authorities, the exclusion of these Councils as statutory consultees
appears illogical for one of the changes that EDF is seeking is the
‘removal of the requirement to install an acoustic fish deterrent (AFD)
system’, which many campaigners believe will have a massively detrimental
impact on the marine life of the Severn Estuary.
NFLA 13th Nov 2023
Consortium green lights European NuScale style (!) small nuclear reactors
Construction Europe By Mike Hayes, 15 November 2023
Industrial bodies from Romania, Italy and Belgium have formed a consortium to advance nuclear energy technology in Europe.
Romanian and Belgian nuclear research centres RATEN and SCK CEN, Italian nuclear company Ansaldo Nucleare and engineering and energy R&D agency ENEA, will take part in the initiative, in collaboration with the US-based nuclear technology company Westinghouse Electric.
The primary objective of the consortium is to develop a small modular lead-cooled fast neutron reactor (SMR-LFR…….
The proposal was reportedly to mirror the efforts of the US NuScale project – a project which has now been cancelled, following a doubling of construction costs.)………………………………https://www.construction-europe.com/news/consortium-green-lights-european-small-nuclear-reactors/8033034.article
EU’s Ukraine weapons goal ‘unattainable’ – Germany
Rt.com 14 Nov 23
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he had been skeptical of Brussels’ pledge all along, citing inadequate production capacities
The European Union will not be able to make good on its pledge to provide Ukraine with one million artillery rounds by next March, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has admitted. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has also echoed this assessment.
Brussels made the promise earlier this year, expecting to reach the ambitious target within 12 months by dipping into existing stocks, as well as by procuring shells from arms manufacturers. However, several media outlets have reported that the bloc is falling behind schedule.
Speaking ahead of a meeting by EU defense chiefs in Brussels on Tuesday, Pistorius said that “the one million won’t be achieved. One must proceed on this assumption.” The minister blamed the supposed shortfall on inadequate production capacities in European nations, explaining that even if the economy was switched to a wartime mode, the ammunition output would still not become prolific enough overnight.
Pistorius admitted he had been skeptical about the bloc’s target right from the start when it was set in March, fearing that it could prove unrealistically ambitious.
Commenting on a report by Bloomberg, which suggested last week that Brussels would not be able to fulfill its promise, Kuleba told local media that the report was “unfortunately” true. …………………………………………………… more https://www.rt.com/news/587258-german-defense-minister-eu-ukraine-shells-target/
Council urged to review plans that could lead to UK hosting US nuclear bombs
An attempt by the Ministry of Defence to build a dormitory that could lead
to the return of US nuclear weapons to British soil is being challenged by
the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) because it is being attempted
without planning permission.
The campaign group has asked West Suffolk
council to intervene and insist that the planned 144-bed facility at RAF
Lakenheath be subject to an environmental impact assessment or be halted.
Work on the dormitory is due to start next year and its purpose is to house
the extra US personnel who would be needed to safeguard any return of B-61
air-launched nuclear bombs to Lakenheath for the first time since 2007.
Kate Hudson, CND’s general secretary, accused the US air force of
ploughing ahead by “purportedly relying on planning rights that assume
that the development won’t have significant environmental effects”, and
so ignoring the risks that storing nuclear weapons in Suffolk would entail.
Guardian 14th Nov 2023
Are staff shortages at Sellafield nuclear power plant affecting safety at the site?
QUESTIONS have been asked over whether a staff shortage at Sellafield
nuclear power plant is affecting safety at the site. The issue was raised
at this month’s meeting of the west Cumbria sites stakeholder group at
Cleator Moor Civic Hall. Neil Crewdson, Sellafield’s site director, was
presenting a progress report on various developments at the site where he
highlighted recruitment issues and a difficulty in attracting staff. But he
outlined a number of ways in which they are hoping to tackle the situation
and turn things around. He said there used to be 200 vacancies a year and
it had risen to 900. He added: “Post Covid we had a step change in people
leaving. With salaries we are trying to make sure they are more
competitive.”
Carlisle News & Star 14th Nov 2023
https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/23923195.rising-number-vacancies-sellafield-covid/
Zelensky may be ousted – ex-presidential aide
https://www.rt.com/russia/587135-zelensky-may-be-ousted-aide/ 13 Nov 23
The idea of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev has become a “prevalent narrative” in the West, Oleg Soskin believes
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s unwillingness to consider peace talks with Russia might lead him to being ousted to make such negotiations possible, Oleg Soskin, an adviser to two former Ukrainian presidents, said on Saturday.
Zelensky, who continues to maintain that victory should be achieved on the battlefield, simply “cannot” enter peace talks with Moscow, Soskin said on his YouTube channel. Such actions, he believes, are pushing Russia and at least some of Ukraine’s Western backers to think that they need someone else to represent Kiev who can “agree on even a temporary truce.” In order to achieve that, the current Ukrainian leadership needs to be “neutralized,” the former presidential aide added.
The idea of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has become a “prevalent narrative” not only in Russia but in the West as well, Soskin suggested. He noted that French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed such ideas not so long ago.
Macron told the BBC in an interview this week that although it was France’s “duty” to support Kiev the time might have come for some “fair and good negotiations” with Russia. Meloni recently told a pair of Russian pranksters, Vovan and Lexus, that “there is a lot of fatigue” in the EU over the conflict. “We are near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out,” she added at that time.
Soskin, a renowned economist who was the deputy head of the Institute of the World Economics and International Relations of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in the 1990s, said that the EU would also be potentially unable to satisfy Kiev’s needs for military equipment and ammunition, particularly if US military aid decreases.
The former official served as a senior adviser to Ukraine’s first president, Leonid Kravchuk, in the early 1990s and was later an economic adviser to the nation’s second leader, Leonid Kuchma, between 1998 and 2000.
Kiev has repeatedly ruled out any talks with Moscow and demands a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from all territories Ukraine claims as its own. Zelensky reiterated this demand in an interview with Reuters this week, adding that Kiev would continue the fight even without US aid if need be.
He also denied media reports about Ukraine’s Western backers allegedly encouraging it to engage in peace negotiations with Moscow. “This is not going to happen,” he said last week.
Russia has repeatedly signaled its readiness to engage in negotiations with Kiev but has insisted that such talks should take Moscow’s security interests and the “reality on the ground” into account. In the autumn of 2022, four former Ukrainian territories – including the two Donbass republics – officially joined Russia, following a series of referendums.
Kiev declared the votes a “sham” and has sought to reclaim control over the four territories, as well as Crimea, which joined Russia in 2014 following another referendum.
Armed With B61-12 Nuclear Bombs, Dutch F-35A Fighters Get Close To Nuke Strike Mission
EurAsian Times, By Sakshi Tiwari, November 12, 2023
Months after Russia’s ally Belarus received tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow, there is indication that the United States is assisting the Dutch F-35A in taking on its role as a nuclear carrier platform.
Amid increased nuclear threat looming over Europe, the Netherlands announced that it had obtained “initial certification for the deterrence mission,” suggesting that some of the F-35A stealth fighters that are part of NATO’s fleet are getting closer to being fully nuclear-capable.
The F-35A was to be certified as a “Dual Capable Aircraft (DCA)” by January 2024, according to an earlier announcement by the US Air Force, with the capability to carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb. The US Air Force has not yet disclosed if any other country or its F-35As have received certification to deploy the B61-12.
The Dutch Air Combat Command commander Johan van Deventer posted on X: “#ACC “Ready for Operations” was the result of the US team that inspected us this week. This gives us our initial certification for the deterrence mission with the F-35. An important step in the transition. Made possible by teamwork.”
Even though The Netherlands does not have nuclear weapons, NATO’s ‘Nuclear Sharing’ doctrine enables members without nukes of their own to take part in NATO’s nuclear deployment.
As of now, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands have access to other B61 family of weapons provided by the United States. The F-16 fighter jets of the Dutch Air Force are currently capable of carrying these nuclear bombs.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) anticipates announcing full operational capability with its F-35A in early 2024. However, that announcement will be made once the F-35A fighter can complete all the objectives allocated to the F-16.
With work progressing steadily on turning the aircraft into a nuclear carrier, the integration of B61-12 would likely have to be completed before that.
The operational preparedness of the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s (RNLAF) F-35A fleet was inspected by US Air Force officers who visited the Dutch Air Combat Command. Though the bombs themselves are unknown to have been made available to date, a determination was made regarding the RNLAF’s capacity to assume the nuclear strike mission with the F-35A, leading to the associated certification.
A photo was also published, which showed an RNLAF F-35A carrying the test variants of the B61-12 nuclear bombs. On its part, the B61-12 is an 825-pound, 12-foot-long bomb that features an inertial navigation system (INS) guidance package. It comprises both new parts — such as the precision guiding tail kit and reconditioned components, all of which have varying yields — from the previous B61 variants.
All 150 or so of the older B61 variants presently housed at six European bases will probably be replaced by B61-12s. This includes bombs stationed in locations in Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, where the Dutch Volkel Air Base is home to ten to fifteen B61 nuclear bombs that RNLAF F-16s deliver. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Russia’s Nuclear Sabre Rattling Continues
The possibility of a nuclear exchange between Moscow and the West has returned to the forefront of attention due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although allies concur that there is little chance of Russia intensifying the conflict in Ukraine, there is increasing divergence amongst them over the circumstances under which this risk might rise and how.
According to some US and other NATO defense officials, if Russia’s forces appear to be about to collapse or if Ukraine appears set to seize Crimea and sizable swaths of occupied territory in southern and eastern Ukraine, there may be a greater chance that Russia will launch a limited nuclear strike using a low-yield tactical nuclear weapon to prevent a significant military defeat.
Moreover, the Belarusian President, who is the only ally that Russia has in Europe, announced in June this year that his country received tactical nuclear weapons from Russia. He went so far as to say that some of these weapons were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945…………………………………………………………………… more https://www.eurasiantimes.com/returns-to-europe-after-belarusian/—
Deadly alliance: Why has the CIA decided to allow US media to confirm its involvement in Ukraine’s brutal assassination campaign?
The scale of US intelligence support for Kiev’s murderous operations has been brought to light at a very interesting moment
https://www.rt.com/russia/586692-cia-sbu-kiev-assassinations/
By Chay Bowes, journalist and geopolitical analyst, MA in Strategic Studies, RT correspondent
As Ukraine slips quietly from the top of the Western media’s news agenda, fascinating insights into the granular nature of the CIA’s involvement in Kiev’s assassination program are being revealed. By the very same outlets that had previously suggested Ukraine was on a solo run with its slew of extrajudicial killings and terror attacks.
Western media has routinely ignored the brutal exploits of Kiev’s successor to the KGB, the SBU. When they are reported upon, instead of calling out the illegal killing of journalists and activists, the press seeks to frame them as masterful operations of a band of freedom fighters administering tough justice to the “enemies of Ukraine.” A key element of that narrative was that while the US, British, and French intelligence services worked closely with the SBU, they didn’t have any direct control of its actions, particularly when those actions involved assassinating unarmed civilians. However, a recently published article in the Washington Post has now revealed that the CIA had, and continues to have, a central role in the group’s most disturbing activities.
A Washington Post article “Ukrainian spies with deep ties to CIA wage shadow war against Russia” outlines a labyrinthine relationship between the two intelligence agencies, and while the CIA still maintains it doesn’t sanction particular operations, the details revealed in the telling article suggest that this is nothing more than the usual stock disclaimer which accompanies most of Langley’s covert operations. The article is based on interviews with “more than two dozen current and former Ukrainian, US and Western intelligence and security officials” and its revelations are both shocking and fascinating.
One of the first claims it makes is that the relationship between the Ukrainian SBU and the CIA has been developing for decades with the latter working to “develop” Ukraine’s abilities to carry out sabotage and “operations” since at least 2014. The CIA has also been providing detailed intelligence, equipment and training to the SBU during that period and continues to spend “tens of millions” of dollars developing its capabilities. The sources quoted also confirm that the CIA even designed and built a new headquarters for the SBU in Kiev and currently share “levels of information and intelligence unthinkable” prior to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.
According to the Washington Post, the CIA also now maintains a significant presence in Kiev, not only in terms of men and materiel but also information flow, all of which suggests that despite maintaining an overt distance, the CIA is in fact intimately involved in all aspects of SBU operations including the planning and execution of operations outside the state.
One such operation, and probably the most infamous carried out by the SBU since February 2022, was the assassination of Daria Dugina, daughter of prominent Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. The Washington Post article goes into great detail to outline the complexity of the “operation” performed by the SBU that resulted in the death of the unarmed 23-year-old non-combatant in a car bombing outside Moscow in August 2022. It tells of the use of a pet carrier to transport explosives into Russia, and of the surveillance of the deceased woman’s home by the assassin, who then fled across the border soon after the horrendous killing, which was cynically referred to by the SBU as a “liquidation.”
The granular details outlined in the article suggest sources either within the CIA or SBU have now confirmed that their relationship, once presented as purely advisory and business-like, is in fact a deep and long-standing partnership. The article goes on to confirm the SBU’s involvement in several other targeted murders on Russian territory, including the assassination of Vladlen Tatarsky with a bomb in a crowded St. Petersburg cafe and the murder of ex-submarine commander Stanislav Rzhitsky, who was shot in the back while jogging unarmed in a park in Krasnodar.
The revealing article also refers to “uneasiness” in Kiev and Washington regarding the SBU’s penchant for this kind of assassination, noting concern that they could tarnish Ukraine’s image abroad especially among donor countries who recently admitted that without their help Ukraine would collapse within weeks.
What is most interesting about this piece is probably not its confirmation that the CIA is intimately involved in the operations of the SBU, what’s most fascinating is why a newspaper widely recognized as itself having an intimate relationship with the CIA has suddenly decided to basically confirm what many analysts already knew when it comes to Langley and the SBU.
The Washington Post’s revelation comes not only in the aftermath of the bloody Hamas incursion into Israel and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza but also as international attention, and more importantly, appetite to support Kiev, wanes. This shift in attention, not only in the media but also potentially in the scale of aid, bodes poorly for President Vladimir Zelensky’s regime, as it faces increasing domestic pressures and war-weary neighbors.
Couple this with the oncoming winter and the view looks increasingly grim for Zelensky even before mentioning Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and recent Russian battlefield gains. It now also looks inevitable that Ukraine will find itself playing second fiddle to an emerging political and potentially military crisis in the Middle East while competing for the vital US aid that keeps the Kiev regime afloat. Crucially, all of these woes offer a beleaguered NATO an opportunity to apply pressure on Zelensky to seek peace, potentially solving an increasingly difficult puzzle for Kiev’s backers as they head towards elections that will be decided by populations ever more vocal in their disdain for the conflict.
So as Kiev’s woes compound and the world’s gaze shifts towards Gaza, it seems the truth about the West’s intimate relationship with the SBU is now being pulled out of the closet, not by a whistleblower or dissenting investigative journalist, but by a stalwart of the US intelligence community, the Washington Post. The question we should all be asking is why? How does this benefit or promote a Western ‘victory’ in Ukraine? The answer may well be that it’s not a victory that these revelations are supposed to facilitate. It’s more likely that it’s part of a strategy of edging Kiev towards accepting the undeniable reality that the entire US project in Ukraine is set to fail, and for Zelensky to seek accommodation before there’s nothing left to negotiate with.
The task now is to end it as painlessly as possible for NATO and Kiev’s exhausted backers, and to move on to the next crusade, leaving a devastated and dysfunctional Ukraine to be consigned to the growing graveyard of bloody US foreign policy misadventures.
Portugal made great strides in renewable energy.
This week Portugal made strides to meet its 2045 deadline, by producing
more renewable energy than it needed for 149 hours straight – a new record.
Portugal aims to generate 85% of its electricity from renewable sources by
2030 and be carbon neutral by 2045 – five years earlier than most European
nations.
Positive News 10th Nov 2023
Russia raises alarm about nuclear waste storage in Ukraine reaching unsafe levels
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova warns of high chance of approximately 12 million tons of radioactive waste entering Dnieper river, groundwater
Elena Teslova |10.11.2023 – https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russia-raises-alarm-about-nuclear-waste-storage-in-ukraine-reaching-unsafe-levels/3049929
Russia raised the alarm on Friday about nuclear waste storage in Ukraine reaching unsafe levels, warning of a high chance of approximately 12 million tons of radioactive waste entering the Dnieper river and groundwater.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the “situation with dangerous nuclear waste storage in Ukraine is taking a disastrous character.”
In a statement published on the ministry’s website, Zakharova said the volume of nuclear waste at the Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant, located in the city of Kamianske, has reached 42 million tons.
“The plant was constructed during the Soviet era, and it is processing wastes that are presently stored in nine open-air dumping grounds containing sand-like low-radioactive residue.
“These wastes are a significant and dangerous source of environmental pollution. There is a high probability of about 12 million tons of radioactive waste entering the Dnieper (river) and groundwater as a result of possible erosion of the dam at one of the storage facilities located 800 meters from the river and its tributary Konoplyanka,” Zakharova warned.
Also, she added, about 14 tons of radioactive dust is blown throughout the area every year, contaminating agricultural land.
“According to our information, Kyiv does not allocate funding to ensure the environmental safety of the facilities of the Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant, which, ultimately, can lead to an environmental disaster not only in the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime but also beyond its borders,” she said.
Concerns over the plant’s poor condition have been raised for many years with no response from officials.
Alison McDermott’s Courageous Whistleblower Journey at Sellafield Nuclear Site
In a sobering session at the European Compliance and Ethics Conference
(ECEC) 2023, whistleblower Alison McDermott spoke to Katy Diggory about the
horrendous abuse and litigation she faced after speaking up about serious
systemic issues at the Sellafield Ltd nuclear site.
After being ripped apart by the courts and risking her social standing and career, Alison
still spoke up to protect current and future employees. We are blown away
by her bravery and resolute commitment to ethical values! She also shared
what changes organizations need to put in place to protect whistleblowers:
among them, a confidential way for people to report cases of wrongdoing in
their workplaces.
EQS Group 26th Oct 2023
EU to launch industrial alliance on small nuclear reactors – great timing! – NOT
US company NuScale Power has an agreement with Romania’s Nuclearelectrica to build a cluster of six SMRs
Science Business, 09 Nov 2023
The nuclear industry has welcomed European Commission plans for a concerted effort on small modular reactors. A new international consortium plans to demonstrate the technology in Belgium
The European Commission is launching an industrial alliance to promote development of small modular reactors (SMRs), that are billed as being safer and cheaper than conventional reactors.
“The Commission will carry out all the preparatory work with a view to launching the Industrial Alliance in the coming months,” Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told the European Nuclear Energy Forum in Bratislava on Tuesday.
Small-scale nuclear power stations should be quicker and cheaper to build than large counterparts because they will be standardised designs that can manufactured at scale and shipped to the site.
There are no commercial SMRs in operation, but several projects are planned around the world. US company NuScale Power has an agreement with Romania’s Nuclearelectrica to build a cluster of six SMRs on the site of a former coal plant, which could be deployed in 2029……………………………………………….
The Commission organised the first EU workshop on SMRs in 2021, leading to a proposal for a European SMR partnership, involving industry, research and technology bodies and potential customers.
“We are delighted that the European Commission is now giving its full backing to this key technology of the future,” said Yves Desbazeille, director general of trade association nucleareurope………………………………….
The industrial alliance is expected to focus on financial support for SMEs, strengthening training, supporting research and innovation, and addressing the needs of energy-intensive industries.
Also this week, five industrial and research partners agreed to participate in an international consortium to speed up deployment of SMRs.
Energy companies Ansaldo Nucleare (Italy) and Westinghouse Electric Company (US) will be joined by the research centres ENEA (Italy), SCK CEN (Belgium), and RATEN (Romania), using lead as a coolant…………………… more https://sciencebusiness.net/news/nuclear-fusion/eu-launch-industrial-alliance-small-nuclear-reactors
1 This Month
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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