Nuclear Reactor Faces 18 Hours Without Cooling as “Pipes Burst Like Burning Arteries” Following Technician’s Mistake in Shocking Safety Breakdown.
In a dramatic turn of events, a technician’s error at the Golfech nuclear power plant in France nearly sparked a catastrophe, highlighting the ever-present risks of human error in high-stakes environments.
, Sustainability Times, August 17, 2025
The potential for human error in high-stakes environments is a persistent concern, highlighted by recent events at the Golfech nuclear power plant in France. On June 15, 2025, a critical mistake was narrowly averted, preventing potentially severe consequences. A technician inadvertently closed the wrong cooling valve, leading to an 18-hour shutdown of a critical system. This incident, reminiscent of historical nuclear mishaps, underscores the essential role of vigilance and robust safety protocols in nuclear operations. As we examine this event, it serves as a crucial reminder of the delicate balance required to maintain safety in nuclear power facilities.
An Operation That Almost Went Awry
Human error remains a significant risk in routine operations, particularly in high-stakes environments like nuclear power plants. The incident at Golfech underscores this reality. During a standard inspection of Unit 2, a technician inadvertently closed the cooling valve for Reactor No. 1, which was still operational. This mistake resulted in an 18-hour interruption of the reactor’s cooling system, elevating the risk of a major incident.
The cooling system is vital for preventing overheating in nuclear reactors. The technician’s error interrupted this critical process, but the mistake was detected late in the evening, and the system was restored within 30 minutes. Although the swift response prevented severe consequences, the incident serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers inherent in nuclear operations and the need for constant vigilance.
Why Is Cooling Essential for Nuclear Reactors?
Cooling is a fundamental aspect of nuclear reactor operations, critical for preventing overheating and potential disasters. In nuclear reactors, electricity is generated through the fission of uranium atoms, which produces significant heat. This heat transforms water into steam, driving turbines to produce electricity. Without proper temperature regulation, a meltdown could occur, leading to catastrophic consequences.
To manage the heat, reactors typically use water from nearby rivers or seas to maintain a stable temperature. The importance of these cooling systems cannot be overstated, as their failure could result in severe environmental and human impacts. The incident at Golfech highlights the critical role these systems play in ensuring the safety and stability of nuclear operations.
Lessons Learned from the Golfech Incident
The Golfech incident serves as a potent reminder of the challenges involved in nuclear plant operations and the importance of stringent safety protocols. The occurrence of such an error during a routine task underscores the need for continuous training and vigilance. It raises questions about the adequacy of current safety measures and whether additional checks are necessary to prevent similar incidents.
In response to this event, nuclear facilities globally may need to review their procedures and consider implementing more robust systems for monitoring and error prevention. The Golfech incident is a valuable lesson in the critical nature of nuclear safety and the potentially devastating consequences of human error in such sensitive environments………………………………………………………………………. https://www.sustainability-times.com/energy/nuclear-reactor-faces-18-hours-without-cooling-as-pipes-burst-like-burning-arteries-following-technicians-mistake-in-shocking-safety-breakdown/
Review of the Alaska meeting – The goal is always domination.
Organizing Notes, Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, 16 Aug 25, https://space4peace.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-goal-is-always-domination.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
The Washington post reports in their top headline this morning the following: Trump reverses on Ukraine war ceasefire demand, aligning with Putin, splitting with allies: An immediate ceasefire to the war in Ukraine had long been a bedrock demand by the U.S., Ukraine and their European allies.
One can easily imagine that most neocons in Washington, London and the EU are pulling their hair out. Zelensky as well. His cash cow is wandering off the farm.
No immediate ceasefire was agreed upon. That was the chief demand of Zelensky, Starmer, Macon and Merz. They wanted to use that time to re-stock Ukraine with more weapons (especially drones) that could keep attacking civilians in the Donbass and inside of Russia.
Give Trump a nod (what ever his real motivations might be) he has now angered the ‘allies’ and they know that if they want the proxy war on Russia to continue (and they surely do) they are going to have to pay for it.
In one interview on Fox, Trump said the US funded Ukraine at the tune of $350 billion while the EU gave $100 billion.
Actually the US can’t afford to keep pissing money down the rat hole – especially when they want to spend that money getting ready for war with China. (And maybe still with Russia and Iran too.)
The Ukraine gamble is lost.
The oligarchic owned media in the US ensured that the Obama-Biden-Hillary Clinton orchestrated coup in Kiev in 2014 was swallowed by the people across the ‘democratic’ west. The public was firmly brainwashed to believe that Ukraine was the white hat team and Russia was the black hat bad guys.
Few know that the US-NATO started the war in 2014 and killed/wounded tens of thousands of Russian-ethnics in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine – the place where the war is centered today.
In early 2022 Russian went into the Donbass after years of fruitless negotiations with the west to end their attacks on the Donbass. The US-NATO always wanted the war. They dreamed of breaking Russia up into pieces.
But don’t think the US has given up on its ill-fated quest to break up Russia. Alaska was just a ‘strategic retreat’. Just look at how Washington is fiddling with Armenia and Azerbaijan to destabilize another border land of both Russia and Iran.
The US is also working with Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland to militarize the Arctic in order to challenge Russia’s large border with that vast resource rich region.
The US-NATO only know war. Their economies are driven by military spending. Their so-called leaders are virtually all corporate apparatchiks.
And don’t forget that many of these EU-NATO leaders are related to former high level Nazi operatives during WW2.
Europe appears stuck in the quicksand of their disappearing ‘unipolar’ control. They just can’t accept that they must get along with the Global South that is rising after 500 years of colonial domination.
The US and EU got rich off the treasure they stole from the Global South. Museums across the west are loaded with treasures taken from these nations.
Trump is still about America First. That has not changed. The public in the US must campaign against the Pentagon’s trillion dollar a year offensive war machine.
That is the only way we will get true peace.
US flies nuclear bombs to Britain.
“The new nuclear bombs which are now based at Lakenheath are entirely under the control of Donald Trump and could be used without the UK having any say at all in the matter.
Nukewatch UK reveals how US nuclear gravity bombs were deployed on US soil for the first time in 17 years
By Peter Burt
US nuclear bombs were delivered to Lakenheath air base on Thursday 17 July as part of NATO plans to deploy new battlefield nuclear nuclear weapons intended for war-fighting in Europe. The following is an examination of how we know this, with an update also below.
The flight
The arrival of a special flight transporting the bombs was observed by Nukewatch UK, who judge that the evidence publicly available from our observations and flight-tracking data now supports the conclusion that nuclear weapons are based at the Lakenheath US air base in Suffolk. This article explains how the weapons were brought to Lakenheath by the US Air Force and sets out the evidence which indicates they are now stationed at the British base.
Shortly after 7 am local time on Tuesday 15 July a giant C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft, flight number RCH4574 (‘Reach 4574’), assigned to the US Air Force’s 62nd Airlift Wing left Joint Base Lewis–McChord, its home base in Washington state. The 62nd Airlift Wing is an elite, highly trained transport unit which serves as the US Air Force’s Prime Nuclear Airlift Force: the only Air Force section tasked with the role of supporting the US Department of Defence and Department of Energy with their nuclear airlift operations. The aircraft undertaking the flight was a C-17 with the serial number 08-8200, flying on high priority mission with the air force mission number PAM112271196.
The aircraft flew across the continental United States to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico – the hub of the US Air Force’s nuclear operations, where the largest nuclear weapons storage facility in the world is located: the Kirtland Underground Munitions Maintenance and Storage Complex(KUMMSC). KUMMSC stores a significant portion of the US nuclear arsenal, including gravity bombs and warheads.
At Kirtland the aircraft almost certainly loaded up with a cargo of anything up to 20 newly manufactured B61-12 nuclear weapons – a new, modernised version of the US Air Force’s principal nuclear gravity bomb with greater accuracy than older variants of the weapon. Manufacturing of the B61-12 variant was completed in December 2024 and the weapon is currently being rolled out on deployment. Whilst at Kirtland the aircraft was parked on Pad 5 – the section of the airbase designated for handling hazardous cargoes. Other aircraft at the airport were given a warning not to overfly the aircraft on Pad 5 for a period of over five hours, which ended only once the C-17 had departed.
Mid evening local time on Wednesday 16 July Reach 4574 took off, with the pilot reminding the ground controller that the aircraft has “haz cargo” on board. The aircraft flew through the night across the Atlantic Ocean, rendezvousing with two KC-46 tanker aircraft from Pease Air National Guard Base and McGuire Air Force Base to refuel over the ocean east of New York.
In a co-ordinated operation, a second C-17 aircraft (aircraft number 09-9211, flight number RCH4205, mission number PAM112472196) also left Lewis-McChord on 15 July and flew to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany (stopping briefly at Lakenheath) to be on standby in the event of a failure or emergency involving the primary aircraft. This standby aircraft may have been loaded with nuclear emergency response equipment for dealing with an accident involving the primary aircraft.
Reach 4574 approached the UK flying south of Ireland, then flew up the Bristol Channel, cut across north Devon, and flew north west along a corridor taking it close to Oxford and Milton Keynes, but avoiding overflying major centres of population. The plane landed at Lakenheath air base at 12.50 local time.
Unloading the bombs
Nukewatch UK was able to observe the aircraft landing and unloading from outside the Lakenheath base. During the unloading operation base security was at an unusually high level, with USAF security patrols and police cars undertaking patrols inside the base’s security fence and plain-clothed (but badged) personnel from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations patrolling outside the base……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Nukewatch UK believes that this C-17 aircraft was transporting a batch of B61-12 nuclear weapons to Lakenheath. Our reasons for arriving at this conclusion are given below.
US nuclear weapons in Europe
The 62nd Airlift Wing regularly conducts Prime Nuclear Airlift Force missions across the Atlantic to transport materials and equipment to air bases in Europe which support NATO’s nuclear mission in Europe, under which B61 bombs are stored at US bases in Europe and bases of European nations which take part in NATO nuclear-sharing arrangements with the US. Nukewatch has been actively tracking these flights for three years, and has used archived tracking data to analyse flights since the beginning of 2020. Over this period missions have included occasional operations which have been unusually complex, involving up to seven aircraft as stand-bys and for in-flight refuelling. In addition to operations involving nuclear weapons, the unit also conducts missions transporting special nuclear materials which visit several NATO nuclear bases in Europe in sequence, and also conducts missions involving training with ground personnel at several nuclear bases.
It is possible that the earliest of these missions were training and rehearsal flights for the delivery of new B61-12 nuclear bombs to Europe, with more recent flights actually transporting the nuclear bombs across the Atlantic for deployment at bases in Europe. Nukewatch has observed that Lakenheath has been involved in many of these missions, initially as a location for basing a stand-by aircraft in Europe – possibly for use by a nuclear emergency response team. More recently Lakenheath appears to have been involved in a series of ‘work up’ exercises and security drills involving aircraft from 62 Airlift Wing to prepare the base for the arrival of nuclear weapons, culminating in a large-scale exercise over two days on 10 – 11 June 2025 which may have been a dress rehearsal for the nuclear delivery operation. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What we think
Speaking on the delivery of US B61-12 nuclear weapons to Lakenheath, Juliet McBride of Nukewatch UK said:
“The new nuclear bombs which are now based at Lakenheath are entirely under the control of Donald Trump and could be used without the UK having any say at all in the matter. In fact, we wonder whether the UK government has even been notified by the US Air Force that the weapons are now stationed at Lakenheath.
“The nuclear weapons now stored at Lakenheath have an explosive power of up to 50 kilotons. For comparison, the atom bomb that devastated Hiroshima in 1945 had an explosive yield of 15 kilotons. Far from protecting Europeans during wartime, these nuclear weapons would contribute to turning Europe into a radioactive wasteland.
“Despite the significant issues and risks involved in basing these weapons of mass destruction in Europe, neither the US nor the UK government have bothered to inform citizens or Parliament that they have been deployed here. Nukewatch UK believes that UK citizens have a right to know that these preparations for fighting a nuclear war are under way, and we will continue to report on nuclear movements to Lakenheath and other European nuclear bases”.
Update: Second nuclear flight arrives at Lakenheath
Following a delivery of nuclear weapons to Lakenheath US air base in Suffolk on 17-18 July 2025, a second Prime Nuclear Airlift force flew to Lakenheath on 24-25 July to delivery a high priority hazardous cargo……………………………………………………………………….
Nukewatch concludes the following:
- A high security unloading operation for hazardous materials took place at Lakenheath.
- The operation seemed to follow slightly different procedures to the one observed the previous week.
- Nevertheless, the degree of security and general circumstances of the flight seem to indicate that a nuclear-related load was probably delivered in the aircraft. This may have been components and equipment related to nuclear weapons, or possibly weapons themselves.
- Between four to six loads seemed to be transported away from the aircraft in small convoys to a location on the airbase nearby.
- Assuming two or three transporting vehicles in each convoy, and each convoy carried one nuclear bomb, this suggests that between around 8 and 18 ‘units’ of cargo were delivered by this flight. https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2025/08/17/us-flies-nuclear-bombs-to-britain/
Russia says it prevented a Ukrainian drone attack on the Smolensk nuclear power plant.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had prevented a
Ukrainian drone attack on the Smolensk nuclear power plant in western
Russia on Sunday. The Soviet-era Smolensk nuclear power station, about 330
km (200 miles) southwest of Moscow near the border with Belarus, has three
RBMK reactors – the same basic design as the reactors at the Chernobyl
nuclear power station. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB,
said that Russian radio-electronic warfare systems intercepted a Ukrainian
drone over the territory of the Smolensk nuclear power station.
Reuters 17th Aug 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-prevented-ukrainian-drone-attack-smolensk-nuclear-power-plant-2025-08-17/
Rachel Reeves to cut ‘bats and newts’ in boost to developers
Developers would also no longer have to prove that projects would have no impact on protected natural sites, under plans that would abolish the “precautionary principle” enshrined in
European rules.
Chancellor considers making it harder for concerns about nature to stand in
the way of infrastructure projects, in an effort to boost the economy.
Rachel Reeves is preparing to strip back environmental protections in an
effort to boost the economy by speeding up infrastructure projects. The
chancellor is considering reforms that would make it far harder for
concerns about nature to stop development, which she insists is crucial to
restoring growth and improving living standards.
The Treasury has begun
preparing for another planning reform bill and is thinking about tearing up
key parts of European environmental rules that developers say are making it
harder to build key projects. Labour ministers have repeatedly insisted
that their current planning overhaul will not come at the expense of
nature, promising a “win-win” system where developers will pay to
offset environmental damage.
But Reeves is understood to believe that the
government must go significantly further, after expressing frustration that
the interests of “bats and newts” are being allowed to stymie critical
infrastructure. She has tasked officials with looking at much more
contentious reforms, which are likely to provoke a furious backlash from
environmentalists and cause unease for some Labour MPs.
A smaller, UK-only
list of protected species is being planned, which would place less weight
on wildlife — including types of newt — that is rare elsewhere in
Europe but more common in Britain. Developers would also no longer have to
prove that projects would have no impact on protected natural sites, under
plans that would abolish the “precautionary principle” enshrined in
European rules. Instead, a new test would look at risks and benefits of
potential projects. Further curbs to judicial review are also being
considered by Reeves to stop key projects being delayed by legal challenges
from environmentalists.
Times 17th Aug 2025, https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/rachel-reeves-strip-back-environmental-protections-planning-projects-xjxn02crs
Ministry of Defence urged to publish full details of Faslane incident.
The Ministry of Defence is being urged to publish full details of
a nuclear incident which took place at Faslane earlier this year. As
revealed by The Herald, the most serious grade of Nuclear Site Event Report
(NSER), Category A, took place at HMNB Clyde between January 1 and April
22.
The facility on Gare Loch is home to all of the Royal Navy’s
submarines, including the Vanguard class which are armed with Trident
missiles and the nuclear-powered Astute class hunter-killer vessels.
A Category A NSER carries an “actual or high potential for radioactive
release to the environment”. Approached for comment, the Ministry of
Defence said there had been “no unsafe releases of radioactive material” in
the Category A incident at Faslane but that it could not disclose details
of individual incidents for reasons of national security.
The MoD had previously admitted that radioactive material had been released into Loch
Long from RNAD Coulport after the Royal Navy failed to adequately maintain
the network of 1,500 water pipes on the base. Now SNP MSP Bill Kidd is
calling for the Ministry of Defence to publish full details of the Category
A incident, provide a complete contamination report for Loch Long, and set
out a clear plan for clean-up and prevention.
Herald 18th Aug 2025,
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25394175.mod-urged-publish-full-details-faslane-incident/
Unproven and costly: Nuclear Waste Dump ‘Red’ Rated as Unachievable.
NFLA 18th Aug 2025, https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/unproven-and-costly-nuclear-waste-dump-red-rated-as-unachievable/
A leading Government body charged with responsibility for monitoring the delivery of major taxpayer funded infrastructure projects has just published a report in which the plan to develop a subterranean Geological Disposal Facility to hold Britain’s legacy and future high-level radioactive waste has been ‘Red’ rated as ‘unachievable’.
The GDF was previously rated ‘Amber’ in an assessment by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority published in January of this year[i], signifying that: ‘Successful delivery appears feasible, but significant issues already exist, requiring management attention. These appear resolvable at this stage and, if addressed promptly, should not present a cost/schedule overrun.’
But in a report just published by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), a new body formed by the Labour Government[ii], the GDF is now instead ‘Red’ rated indicating that: ‘Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable. There are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable. The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed.’
The UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities were unsurprised to hear the news. When contacted by New Civil Engineer for a quote, NFLA Secretary Richard Outram said:
“The NISTA Red rating is hardly surprising. The GDF process is fraught with uncertainties and the GDF ‘solution’ remains unproven and costly. A single facility, as estimated by government sources, could cost the taxpayer between £20-54 billion, but this being a nuclear project it is much more likely to be the latter and beyond.’
Government policy for the Geological Disposal Facility is predicated upon finding a project development site that is publicly acceptable, geologically ‘suitable’ and affordable.
So far, the first two of these hurdles have proven problematic to jump for the taxpayer funded body charged with finding a site and developing the facility. Nuclear Waste Services has being forced to retreat from South Holderness and Theddlethorpe in the face of steadfast public opposition and obliged to withdraw from Allerdale citing a lack of suitable geology.
Consequently, NWS is once more now limited to the pursuit of a site in Mid and South Copeland in West Cumbria. Both areas adjoin the beautiful Lake District National Park. They were previously the focus of failed attempts to impose a GDF, but the geology was found unsuitable, and the opposition of Cumbria County Council ended the process.
Resistance is growing to a GDF in South Copeland. Local people have formed an opposition group; two local Councils have condemned the plan and withdrawn their support from the process; and a review of the Community Partnership found it to be in disarray with factional infighting.
It is therefore not inconceivable that plans for a GDF in South Copeland could also soon be shelved.
Now Radiation Free Lakeland / Lakes against the Dump is gathering signatures from Cumbrians on a petition calling on Cumberland County Councillors to debate and vote upon their continued engagement with the GDF process. Once 1,000 County residents have signed the petition, the Council’s constitution provides for such a debate to be held in response.
Here are links to the petition: www.change.org/CumbriaNuclearDump https://www.change.org/p/massive-mine-shafts-and-nuclear-dump-for-cumbria-coast-tell-cumberland-council-vote-now
Judicial review sought at High Court into flood barriers.
16th August, By Dominic Bareham, Geographic Specialist Reporter, https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/25391172.judicial-review-sought-high-court-flood-barriers/
Campaigners fighting the new Sizewell C nuclear power station have been granted a hearing in the High Court.
Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) is seeking a judicial review into plans for additional sea defences as part of the project.
The action group is calling for Sizewell C’s development consent order, granted in 2022, to be revoked or varied.
A judge at the High Court will hear TASC’s representatives claim project developer, power firm EDF, kept plans for the flood barriers secret in order to avoid scrutiny.
A decision would then be made on whether to grant a judicial review hearing, which would take place at a later date.
A TASC spokesperson said: “Sizewell C’s attempt to avoid scrutiny of these additional sea defences now means the project is proceeding without its full environmental impact having been assessed, this being in contravention of the UK Habitat Regulations.
“Sizewell C clearly believe they can do as they see fit with our heritage coast, national landscape and designated wildlife sites irrespective of the damage they will cause – this government, the largest shareholder in Sizewell C, must be challenged on this.”
TASC believe that the barriers were omitted from the original planning application that was granted development consent and fear that their construction could disrupt nearby wildlife habitats.
The campaigners would like less invasive flood barrier options to be pursued.
TASC has lost previous judicial reviews into the new station, which is set to cost £38 billion, including in June 2023 when the High Court rejected a legal challenge over the disposal of nuclear waste and the provision of a water supply.
In 2022, a similar legal challenge claiming the development was unlawful because of concerns about the maintenance of a water supply, was also rejected.
Trump on Summit with Putin: We Made Great Progress Today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded the summit by inviting Trump to Moscow
by Kyle Anzalone | August 15, 2025 https://news.antiwar.com/2025/08/15/trump-on-summit-with-putin-we-made-great-progress-today/
Following a three-hour meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, the leaders delivered brief statements at a press conference, stating that the talks were productive and constructive.
Putin spoke first, telling the press that the talks were in a “constructive atmosphere of mutual respect. We had very thorough negotiations.” He added that he hoped European governments and Ukraine would receive the agreements made with Trump “constructively” and that they would not interfere with the progress.
The Russian leader also blamed former US President Joe Biden for starting the war in Ukraine and argued that the invasion would not have happened if Trump had been the president. Trump has often claimed the conflict in Ukraine was Biden’s war, and he could have prevented the war from breaking out.
Putin noted that before the start of the war in 2022, Moscow sent Washington a proposal that would have stopped the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A core issue for the Kremlin was the growing ties between NATO and Ukraine. However, the Biden administration refused to negotiate on this point, and Putin ordered the invasion.
The Russian President said that during the Biden administration, US and Russian relations hit a post-Cold War low point. Putin expressed hope that the summit would be the start of the process to repair the ties and resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
“I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points we agreed on, I would say most of them,” Trump said. “A couple of big ones we haven’t quite gotten there, but we made some headway.”
Trump explained that no final agreement was made. “So there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he added. He went on to say he would call European leaders and Ukrainian President Zelensky. He added that it was ultimately up to the Ukrainians to accept any agreement.
The President did not specify what issues were left unresolved, but later in his statement, he mentioned that the “most significant” issue remains unsettled.
At the end of the press conference, Putin extended an invitation to Trump to attend a summit in Moscow. “That is an interesting one. I will get a little heat on that one. But I can see it possibly happening,” Trump replied.
Friday’s meeting in Alaska also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and aide Yury Ushakov.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
Trump meets with Putin: the non-event that was sold as history.
16 August 2025 Michael Taylor, https://theaimn.net/trump-meets-with-putin-the-non-event-that-was-sold-as-history/
The buildup was epic. For weeks, the Trump administration talked up the meeting with Vladimir Putin as if the world was about to witness a defining moment in history. Media speculation was feverish – would there be a grand bargain on Ukraine, arms control, or even global security itself? Some even hinted it might mark the beginning of a “new era” in U.S.–Russia relations.
And then it happened.
The meeting was less “historic breakthrough” and more “awkward photo-op.” No landmark agreements were reached, no peace deals signed, no strategies unveiled. Just vague talk about “respect,” “better relations,” and “future discussions.” In other words: business as usual, wrapped in hype.
Trump will, of course, try to frame it as a personal victory – that’s his style. He even claimed afterward that Putin praised him for what he’d done for America. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t – but given Trump’s track record of exaggerating praise, it’s hard to take the claim at face value. What we do know is that there was little of substance for anyone to point to. America’s allies were left wondering why so much diplomatic capital was spent for so little return, while adversaries quietly enjoyed the spectacle.
Putin, for his part, looked calm and unruffled. He gave away nothing, promised little, and let Trump carry the theatrics. In the end, he walked away looking like the steady hand, while Trump appeared desperate for validation.
This wasn’t the dawn of a new era. It was a reminder that in international politics, theatrics without substance are just that – theatrics. And the more often the world sees this pattern repeat, the less seriously America’s leadership is taken on the global stage.
War’s final act: Zelensky’s dangerous play to crash Russia-US talks
For Zelensky, peace is political extinction. Any agreement that cements territorial realities will shatter the narrative that has sustained his rule. It will mark the end of his leverage in the West, the erosion of his political base at home, and likely the swift rise of challengers eager to blame him for Ukraine’s fate.
As Ukraine’s defeat becomes undeniable, Zelensky resorts to desperate provocations – risking wider conflict to block peace talks between Russia and the US
By Nadezhda Romanenko, political analyst, 12 Aug 25, https://www.rt.com/russia/622816-enemy-of-peace-zelensky-seems/
The war in Ukraine is no longer balanced on a knife’s edge, as some might have thought during the Kursk invasion. The outcome is now visible to anyone willing to look past the headlines: Kiev’s forces are depleted, morale is collapsing, and the long-promised ‘turning points’ have come and gone without materializing. Even Western officials, once confident in endless military aid, are now speaking in guarded tones about “realistic expectations.” On the battlefield, the momentum has shifted irreversibly.
Against this backdrop, the recent statement from Russia’s Ministry of Defense should not be dismissed as mere rhetoric. Moscow alleges that Ukrainian forces are preparing a major provocation – an attack designed to sabotage the upcoming Russia-US peace talks. For those who understand the stakes, the logic is disturbingly clear.
Donald Trump, now poised to play a decisive role in shaping Washington’s foreign policy, has shown a pragmatic grasp of reality. Unlike his predecessors, he is not bound by the fantasy that Ukraine can ‘win’ if only more money and weapons are sent. He has signaled that ending this conflict is both possible and necessary. This puts him on a collision course with those who see peace not as a goal, but as a threat to their own survival.
For Zelensky, peace is political extinction. Any agreement that cements territorial realities will shatter the narrative that has sustained his rule. It will mark the end of his leverage in the West, the erosion of his political base at home, and likely the swift rise of challengers eager to blame him for Ukraine’s fate. Under such pressure, the temptation to derail talks by any means available – including acts of sabotage – becomes more than plausible.
This is not conjecture; it is the historical pattern of leaders who find themselves cornered. In modern conflicts across the globe, we’ve seen desperate governments resort to reckless measures when facing the collapse of their strategic position. The danger here is that such a provocation, if timed to coincide with peace negotiations, could provoke outrage in Washington, disrupt fragile diplomatic channels, and push the conflict back toward open escalation.
Trump has already done much to shift the debate away from the entrenched ‘forever war’ mindset. He has taken political risks to challenge the military-industrial inertia that thrives on endless conflict. But now, perhaps more than ever, he will need to remain steady. The coming weeks will test his ability to see through manipulations and to resist being drawn into the agendas of those who profit from instability.
Peace is within reach – but it will not survive if the world falls for one last, desperate trick from a regime with nothing left to lose.
Serious nuclear incident’ took place at Scottish Navy base
14 Aug 25, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/14/serious-nuclear-incident-clyde-faslane-navy-base/
MoD admits ‘Category A’ event at HMNB Clyde which will raise concerns about maintenance of Trident nuclear submarines
‘Potentially serious’ event at HMNB Clyde prompts concerns about maintenance of Trident submarines
Category A events are defined as those which carry “actual or high potential for radioactive release to the environment”.
The revelation will raise serious concerns about how the Trident nuclear submarines in Scotland are being maintained. It is also likely to prompt questions over transparency and why the incident was not known about until now.
HMNB Clyde houses every Royal Navy submarine, including the Vanguard-class vessels which are armed with Trident missiles.
On Wednesday afternoon, the SNP demanded an urgent explanation from the Labour Government in Westminster over a “catalogue of failures” including separate contamination nearby.
The MoD declined to offer specific details of the incident, which was first reported by the Helensburgh Advertiser. This means it was unclear if any radiation was leaked into the environment or if there was a risk of this taking place.
The incident is not the first category A incident to take place at Faslane, with the MoD having reported two such cases from 2006 to 2007 and a third that took place in 2023.
The incident was disclosed in a written parliamentary answer by Maria Eagle, the procurement minister, after she was asked to provide the number of Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) at the Coulport and Faslane naval bases.
She said there had been one category A event at Faslane between Jan 1 and April 22, two category B, seven category C and four category D. A further five events were deemed to be “below scale”, meaning they were less serious.
Nearby Coulport, where the UK’s nuclear missiles and warheads are stored, had four category C and nine category D events over the same period.
Ms Eagle told Dave Doogan, the SNP MP who tabled the question: “I cannot provide specific detail for the events as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of any relevant forces.
“I can assure the honourable member that none of the events listed in question 49938 caused harm to the health of any member of staff or to any member of the public and none have resulted in any radiological impact to the environment.”
She also said that NSERs “are raised to foster a robust safety culture that learns from experience, whether that is equipment failures, human error, procedural failings, documentation shortcoming or near-misses”.
Category B incidents are defined as having “actual or high potential for a contained release within [a] building or submarine or unplanned exposure to radiation”.
Category C incidents have “moderate potential for future release”, while category D incidents are unlikely to prompt any release but “may contribute towards an adverse trend”.
Radioactive water leak
It emerged last week that radioactive water from the Coulport and Faslane bases, which are situated near Glasgow, was allowed to leak into the sea after several old pipes burst.
The substance was released into Loch Long because the Royal Navy inadequately maintained a network of around 1,500 pipes on the base, a regulator found.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the pollution watchdog north of the border, found up to half the components at the base were beyond their design life.
David Cullen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Basic defence think tank, said attempts to hide previous serious incidents from the public had been “outrageous”.
Mr Cullen said: “The MoD is almost 10 years into a nearly £2bn infrastructure programme at Faslane and Coulport, and yet they apparently didn’t have a proper asset management system as recently as 2022.
“This negligent approach is far too common in the nuclear weapons programme, and is a direct consequence of a lack of oversight.”
Government accused of ‘cover-up’
Keith Brown, the deputy leader of the SNP, accused the Government of a cover-up in relation to the incident at Faslane.
Mr Brown said: “Nuclear weapons are an ever-present danger and this new information is deeply worrying.
“With repeated reports of serious incidents at Faslane and now confirmed radioactive contamination in Loch Long, it’s clear these weapons are not only poorly maintained but are a direct threat to our environment, our communities, and our safety.
“Worse still, the Labour Government is refusing to provide any details about the category A incident, or the full extent of the contamination, including who could potentially be affected.”
The SNP has vowed to scrap Trident, despite consensus in Westminster and among defence experts that the world is now more dangerous than at any point since the Cold War.
The accusations over a cover-up come after The Telegraph disclosed last month that Britain had secretly offered asylum to almost 24,000 Afghan soldiers and their families.
The Government earmarked £7bn to relocate Afghans to the UK over five years after they were caught up in the most serious data breach in history.
Despite enormous costs to the taxpayer, the breach was kept secret from the public for 683 days by two successive governments after the first use of a super-injunction by ministers.
An MoD spokesman said: “We place the upmost importance on handling radioactive substances safely and securely. Nuclear Site Event Reports demonstrate our robust safety culture and commitment to learn from experience.
“The incidents posed no risk to the public and did not result in any radiological impact to the environment. It is factually incorrect to suggest otherwise. Our Government backs our nuclear deterrent as the ultimate guarantor of our national security.
The MoD said it was unable to disclose details of individual incidents for “national security reasons”. However, it is understood all the NSERs were categorised as having a “low safety significance”.
Nuclear legacy costs far outweigh Germany’s environmental protection investments.
Clean Energy Wire, 23 Jul 2025, Benjamin Wehrmann, Germany https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/nuclear-legacy-costs-far-outweigh-germanys-environmental-protection-investments
Over half of the German environment ministry’s (BMUKN) budget for 2025 will be spent on managing the country’s nuclear waste and preparing a decision for a final nuclear repository. According to a government budget draft, the ministry led by Social Democrat (SPD) Carsten Schneider will receive 2.7 billion euros this year, about 300 million euros more than in 2024. Out of this sum, 1.4 billion euros are reserved for the “temporary and final storage of radioactive waste,” a parliament report on the draft said.
In 2024, Germany spent about 1.1 billion euros on nuclear waste management, after the country shuttered its last commercial nuclear power plants in mid-2023. Some 860 million euros from the 2025 ministry budget will be spent on the search for a final repository and about 535 million euros on temporary storage.
By contrast, about 460 million euros were marked for nature and environment protection measures by the ministry, while the subordinate Federal Environment Agency (UBA) will receive another 205 million euros. Climate action costs were not yet reflected in the budget, as the environment ministry was handed responsibility for this policy field from the economy ministry only in spring this year, the parliament report said. It did not specify which measures are covered under this field. Energy policy remains with the economy ministry.
“Nuclear waste is eating up environmental protection,” Wolfgang Ehmke from the citizen initiative for environmental protection of Lüchow-Dannenberg, told newspaper Tageszeitung (taz). The rural district in northern Germany is known for its temporary nuclear repository in the municipality of Gorleben, which has been the site of many anti-nuclear protests over the past decades. Management and construction works at the Gorleben repository alone climbed from 20 million euros in 2024 to 33 million one year later, the newspaper said.
Another repository, Asse near the town of Wolfenbüttel, would even require maintenance investments of 206 million euros this year. Costs for managing the country’s nuclear waste are even higher, as part of the legacy costs are carried by other ministries. For example, the research ministry is responsible for research reactors, while the finance ministry handles nuclear infrastructure in the former eastern German states, as agreed in the country’s reunification treaties, taz added.
Part of the costs of Germany’s nuclear waste management are financed through a fund filled by the former nuclear plant operators. These made a one-off payment of 24 billion euros in 2017 and were subsequently freed of further financial liabilities. Following Germany’s 2011 renewed commitment to phase out nuclear power, the country started looking for a location to safely store its roughly 28,100 cubic metres of radioactive material for hundreds of thousands of years. Initially, the aim was to select a location for the final repository by 2031 but, in 2022, the responsible agency pushed the deadline to until at least 2046.
Switzerland moves to lift ban on new nuclear power plants
Critics counter that new reactors carry high costs, waste disposal challenges and potential public pushback.
The Swiss government has presented draft legislation to end its ban on
building new nuclear power plants, reversing a policy adopted in 2018 to
phase out the technology. The plan, a counterproposal to the popular
initiative “Stop the Blackout,” would allow companies to apply for
licenses to construct reactors — if approved by Parliament and upheld in
a potential referendum.
The popular initiative, meanwhile, wants the shift
to be constitutionally enshrined, which would be more difficult to achieve
than a legislative change. Lifting the ban would mark a major shift in
Switzerland’s energy policy. Proponents argue nuclear will be needed
alongside renewables to meet rising electricity demand, cut emissions and
stabilize the grid. Critics counter that new reactors carry high costs,
waste disposal challenges and potential public pushback. Neighboring
Germany exited nuclear power completely in 2023.
Politico 15th Aug 2025, https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2025/08/15/switzerland-moves-to-lift-ban-on-new-nuclear-power-plants-00509734
Rolls-Royce making fortune from ‘untested new nuclear market’.
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament condemns the firm’s plans for AI-assisted small modular reactors
14 August 2025, Morning Star
ROLLS-ROYCE has been accused of making a fortune out of a “toxic, untested new nuclear market” over plans to power artificial intelligence (AI) with small modular reactors (SMRs).
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) made the comments after the engineering firm’s chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic claimed that its plans to power energy-intensive AI with its nuclear reactors could make it Britain’s most valuable company.
“There is no private company in the world with the nuclear capability we have. If we are not market leader globally, we did something wrong,” he told the BBC.
SMRs are smaller and quicker to build than traditional nuclear plants, but the technology remains unproven.
Rolls-Royce has already supplied SMRs to power dozens of nuclear submarines and has signed a deal to develop six for the Czech Republic while developing three for Britain.
“SMRs are an absolute disaster,” said CND general secretary Sophie Bolt. “Should a working model actually be built, they will produce far more toxic radioactive waste than regular nuclear reactors.
“Rolls-Royce is making a fortune out of this toxic, untested new nuclear market.
“We are bombarded with plans to rapidly expand nuclear sites across the country, but there is still no plan for what to do with the toxic waste generated or deal with legacy waste.
“Britain and its workers need a new green deal, one that leaves nuclear in the 20th century, and puts genuine renewables and anti-militarism at the heart of its security strategy.
“This has been outlined in the Alternative Defence Review, a report supported by CND and the RMT union, which acts as a roadmap for this transition which puts workers at the heart of change.”…………………………………………(Subscribers only)
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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