Ukrainian Tipping Points: UPDATE
by Gordonhahn September 3, 2024 https://gordonhahn.com/2024/09/03/ukrainian-tipping-points-update/
Rueters reports US is just about se to send long-range missiles to Ukraine for attacks deep inside Russia:
US close to agreeing on long-range missiles for Ukraine; delivery to take months
Summary
-Stealthy JASSM weapons have range to hit targets inside Russia
-Decision expected in autumn, U.S. officials say
-Pentagon trying to integrate JASSMs on Soviet-era Ukrainian jets
WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. is close to an agreement to give Ukraine long-range cruise missiles that could reach deep into Russia, but Kyiv would need to wait several months as the U.S. works through technical issues ahead of any shipment, U.S. officials said. The inclusion of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) in a weapons package is expected to be announced this autumn, three sources said, though a final decision has not been made (https://www.reuters.com/world/us-close-agreeing-long-range-missiles-ukraine-delivery-take-months-2024-09-03/).
Israeli Official: Without US Aid, Israel Couldn’t Sustain Gaza Operations for More Than a Few Months
The US has sent over 50,000 tons of weapons to Israel since the genocidal war began and increased shipments over the past month
by Dave DeCamp September 3, 2024 , https://news.antiwar.com/2024/09/03/israeli-official-without-us-aid-israel-couldnt-sustain-gaza-operations-for-more-than-a-few-months/
A senior Israeli Air Force official has told Haaretz that without US military aid, Israel would not have been able to sustain military operations in Gaza for more than a few months, demonstrating how crucial US support is for the genocidal slaughter of Palestinians.
The support is especially crucial for the Israeli Air Force. The report said the US provides the IAF with “all of its fighter planes and some of its bombs, missiles and intelligence equipment.” The US also helps Israel develop “joint weapons systems for all three layers of air defense.”
Since October 7, the US has shipped Israel over 50,000 tons of weapons and other military equipment. Weapons shipments have increased over the past month, with flight tracking data showing that August was the busiest month for US deliveries since October 2023.
President Biden also signed a bill into law that included $17 billion in additional military aid for Israel on top of the $3.8 billion it receives in annual military assistance. The administration recently approved $20 billion in new arms deals for Israel, which includes a new fleet of F-15 fighter jets.
The official speaking to Haaretz said the IAF is crafting a recommendation to increase the domestic production of bombs, missiles, and other ammunition to reduce reliance on the US. But any changes would take years to implement, meaning Israel will continue to be almost entirely reliant on US support.
Israel’s reliance on the US gives the Biden administration enormous leverage over the Israeli government. The administration has refused to use that power to force a ceasefire despite claims that US officials are working for one.
Declassified files reveal plans for nuclear power plant in Tyrone, northern Ireland
WeAreTyrone, By Callum McGuigan, 3 September 2024
DECLASSIFIED Government documents have revealed high-level discussions over a proposal to build a nuclear power plant near Coalisland during the 1950s.
Papers recently opened at the Public Records Office in Belfast under the 20-year rule outline how close Tyrone and the North was to achieving atomic power decades ago.
The two sites envisioned for the dawn of a nuclear age in the North were earmarked as Washing Bay and Derrywarragh Island, both just miles from Coalisland.
Secret talks were held between Stormont and Westminister with the strictest confidence, not just because of Cold War paranoia, but also in fear of recent IRA skirmishes at the border…………………………………………………………………………………
Disaster
The nuclear planning preparations were shortlived, as in October of 1957 the worst nuclear disaster in the UK would halt the progress of developments in the North.
The Windscale nuclear site in England caught fire and radiation spread across the UK and Europe.
The disaster was ranked five out of seven on the International Nuclear Disaster Scale, just two rankings below Chernobyl.
Ultimately, the plans never went ahead.
Reacting to the proposals contained in the recently-declassified files, Coalisland independent councillor, Dan Kerr, said that the ‘risks would have outweighed the positives’.
“When you think of nuclear plants you think of big industrial cities and urban areas, but you also can’t help but remember the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
“It would have been a huge employment opportunity in Coalisland, but at the same time, the risks to locals and the environment would have far outweighed the positives.
“Looking at Lough Neagh now, you could imagine if a disaster like Chernobyl were to have happened here, the whole area and maybe even large parts of the North, could have been turned into a complete wasteland………………………………… https://wearetyrone.com/news/declassified-files-reveal-plans-for-nuclear-power-plant-in-tyrone/
A crisis at Kursk?
IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, duly went off to visit the Kursk site, to remind whoever is listening from either side that having a war around nuclear power plants is frightfully inconvenient when your agency is busy telling the world how safe the technology is and how badly we need more of it.
Linda Pentz Gunter, 2024 https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2024/09/01/a-crisis-at-kursk/
The Russian war against Ukraine now threatens to envelop one of its own nuclear power plants, writes Linda Pentz Gunter
IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, visited the threatened Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia last week, but continues to promote nuclear power expansion.
The trouble with nuclear technology, of any kind really, is that it depends on sensible and even intelligent decisions being made by supremely fallible human beings. The consequences of even a simple mistake are, as we have already seen with Chornobyl, catastrophic.
To add to the danger, nuclear technology also relies on other seemingly elusive human traits, beginning with sanity but also something that ought to be — but all too often isn’t —fundamentally human: empathy. That means not wanting to do anything to other people you wouldn’t want to endure yourself. But of course we see humans doing these things every day, whether at the macro individual level or on a geopolitical scale. We just have to look at events in Congo, Gaza, Haiti, Sudan; the list goes on.
And of course we cannot ignore what is playing out in Ukraine and now Russia. Because of the war there, dragging on since Russia’s February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, we remain in a perpetual state of looming nuclear disaster.
Currently, the prospects of such a disaster are focused on Russia, where that country’s massive Kursk nuclear power plant is the latest such facility to find itself literally in the line of fire as Ukrainian troops make their incursion there in response to Russia’s ongoing war in their country.
But we cannot forget the six-reactor site at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine either, embroiled in some of the worst fighting in that country, the plant occupied by Russian troops for more than two years and also perpetually one errant missile away from catastrophe.
Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear power for its electricity supply, with 15 reactors in all at four nuclear power plants, when all are fully operational. In 2023, even as the war raged around the nuclear sites, Ukraine was still providing a little over half of the country’s electricity from nuclear power.
Russia is far more dependent on natural gas, a product it also exports, and only draws just over 18 percent of its electricity needs from its estimated 37 reactors, situated at 11 nuclear sites.
There are also some fundamental technological differences between the Zaporizhzhia and Kursk nuclear power plants themselves. Kursk, like Zaporizhzhia, is also a six-reactor site, one of the three largest nuclear power plants in Russia. (Zaporizhzhia is not only the biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine but also Europe’s largest.)
But while Zaporizhzhia is made up of six Russian VVER reactors, more akin to the pressurized water reactors used in the United States and much of Europe, the Kursk reactors are of the old Soviet RBMK design.
This is the same model as the Chornobyl unit that exploded in 1986, irradiating land across Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and much of Europe, contamination that persists in many areas today.
Alarmingly, because the Kursk RBMK reactors lack a secondary containment dome, they are even more vulnerable to war damage than Zaporizhzhia’s.
Furthermore, unlike Zaporizhzhia, where all six reactors are fully shut down — making a meltdown less likely but not impossible — two of Kursk’s reactors are still running. And the Russians have already told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that they found the remains of a drone just over 300 feet away from the Kursk nuclear plant. Ukraine has of course denied responsibility for any attempted assault on the plant just as Russia has disavowed accusations it tried to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site.
IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, duly went off to visit the Kursk site, to remind whoever is listening from either side that having a war around nuclear power plants is frightfully inconvenient when your agency is busy telling the world how safe the technology is and how badly we need more of it.
However, like a helpless pre-school teacher with naughty toddlers, Grossi’s only recourse appears to be to tell both the Russians and Ukrainians repeatedly to stop. And since he can’t exactly take away their candy, and in fact has no “or else” to implement, they simply ignore him.
Most of us do still feel empathy for those whose lives we watch extinguished each night as ever more horrific news reports pour in from the countries where war and strife have become a seemingly endless and unstoppable ordeal.
Most of us don’t want another Chornobyl, either, for Ukrainians, for Russians or for anyone. And since we can’t rely on human beings to use nuclear power responsibly, this is one “toy” we have to take away.
Linda Pentz Gunter is the international specialist at Beyond Nuclear and writes for and edits Beyond Nuclear International. Her forthcoming book, Hot Stories. Reflections from a Radioactive World, will be published in autumn 2024.
Inside UK Labour’s plans for a new nuclear age
Before the end of the year, Ed Miliband is expected to announce the next
phase of Britain’s nuclear power revival. The energy secretary has
inherited decisions on two major programmes that could help bring forward a
new nuclear age in the UK — Sizewell C in Suffolk and a fleet of mini
nuclear plants around Britain.
In its election manifesto, Labour lent its
support to nuclear as playing an important role in the shift towards clean [?]
power and improving energy security.
Sceptics of ambitions to build out
Britain’s nuclear industry point towards the delays and budgeting
difficulties that have beset Hinkley Point C as a bad omen for expanding
the UK industry.
The developers have called out the 7,000 design changes it
was forced to make to its reactors by the Office for Nuclear Regulation to
adapt the reactors to UK safety standards, increasing the amount of
concrete and steel needed and pushing up costs.
The project has also been
caught up in wrangling with the Environment Agency and it is still in
dispute over how to best deter fish from swimming near the site and getting
sucked up into its cooling systems.
There is believed to be a £5 billion
funding gap, but CGN’s liability for the project is capped at £6
billion, which leaves the French state on the hook. A fixed, albeit
inflation-linked, subsidy of £92.50 per megawatt-hour (in 2012 prices) was
agreed when Hinkley was signed off, so any increase in costs falls on
shareholders, rather than directly on bill payers.
A final investment decision on [Sizewell C] had been expected by the summer. The hope now is that the project might get the green light before the end of the year, but
there is speculation that it may slip into next year. The government is
expected to launch a new generation of mini nuclear power plants across the
country.
The selection process is being run by Great British Nuclear, an
arm’s-length body set up under the previous government to drive nuclear
deployment. Five ventures, including Rolls-Royce and GE-Hitachi, a joint
venture between GE Vernova, the American energy equipment manufacturer, and
Hitachi, the Japanese conglomerate, have submitted bids for £20 billion in
taxpayer funding.
The plan is to whittle down the list to three or four
designs by the end of this month, with the winning bids chosen before the
end of the year. It is hoped that the chosen technology providers will take
a final investment decision by 2029.
The first small modular reactor is not
expected to be generating electricity before 2035, not in time to
contribute towards Labour’s 2030 net zero goals. Miliband has said the
new government will “strive” to keep to the timetable previously set
out.
When the winning mini nuclear plant designs are chosen, they will be
assigned an operating site by Great British Nuclear. There are eight sites
currently approved for nuclear development in the UK, including Wylfa in
Anglesey, the Sellafield site in Cumbria and Heysham in Lancashire. A deal
in March with Hitachi brought two sites — Wylfa and Oldbury-on-Severn in
Gloucestershire — back under government ownership.
Moorside, which is adjacent to the Sellafield facility is also state-owned, which makes all
three likely potential sites for the first small modular reactors (SMRs).
Rolls-Royce, which is considered a frontrunner in the selection process,
has previously said it has identified four potential parcels of land,
including Oldbury and Moorside, as its preferred locations. However, it is
envisioned that for small modular reactors to fully realise the benefits of
scale, development on more new sites will be needed.
Looser planning rules
are expected to allow these reactors almost anywhere outside built-up
areas.
Times 4th Sept 2024
Iran desperately needs a nuclear deal to save its battered economy
The Islamic Republic has few good options – a nuclear accord 2.0 may be its best hope
By Michael Day, iNews 4th Sept 2024
Iran appears increasingly willing to scale back its nuclear weapons programme in return for sanctions relief to rescue its stricken economy. This might explain Tehran’s reluctance to retaliate hard against Israel’s alleged assassination of a senior Hamas figure.
The delay in Iran’s threatened retribution for the provocative killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 31 July has been explained in part by Tehran’s willingness to allow negotiators to pursue peace talks between Hamas and Israel.
America’s increased naval presence in the region with aircraft carriers and a guided missile-capable submarine might also have made the regime in Tehran think long and hard about how it should respond to Haniyeh’s killing……………………
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, allowed the election of a moderate president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in July, after deciding that a degree of rapprochement and thereby sanctions relief with the West was badly needed to tackled Iran’s dire economic situation and the social unrest that it – along with the regime’s brutality – has created.
………………………now Azizi thinks: “Iran is seriously interested in pursuing agreements with the West that could help it lift sanctions and this is indeed a priority for it. The return of the JCPOA [2015 nuclear deal] triumvirate (Iran’s nuclear negotiators Mohammad Javad Zarif, Abbas Araghchi, Majid Takht-Ravanchi) indeed speaks to that”.
The nuclear deal was concluded with world powers in 2015 under Iran’s former president Hassan Rouhani – an accord ripped up by the Trump administration in 2018.
Underlining the regime’s desire to use a freeze in its nuclear programme as a bargaining chip, Pezeshkian is, according to reports in state media, about to appoint the nuclear negotiations specialist Takht-Ravanchi to a senior role in the foreign affairs department.
The news comes a week after Iran’s supreme leader suggested that his country might resume nuclear negotiations with the US.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….there is of course the seismic matter of the US election result, which is likely to have a huge bearing on America’s willingness to deal with Tehran. Nothing concrete will be agreed on before then. https://inews.co.uk/news/world/iran-nuclear-deal-sanctions-relief-economy-3258961
Developing a plan B for nuclear power in Washington, to cope with global heating
Modern Power Systems Tracey Honney September 3, 2024
elieving that waterways used as cooling sources for nuclear power plants could get warmer due to climate change, climate scientists and nuclear engineering specialists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are joining forces to develop a plan B for nuclear power in Richland, Washington.
The plan is to use Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) funding from DOE to work with Energy Northwest to inform the design and selection of future nuclear reactor cooling systems and assess their impacts on electricity cost………………………………….
Vilim notes that the most economic and best source of cooling is a local, flowing waterway, such as a lake or a river, used to provide “wet” cooling. That’s the approach employed at Washington’s nuclear power plant, the Columbia generating station in Richland. The Columbia generating station provides roughly 8% of the state’s electricity. It relies on a steady, cool flow of water from the Columbia River.
However, when considering construction of future nuclear power plants, Energy Northwest thought it prudent to develop a contingency plan if the river conditions change. Despite the relatively wet climate of its most populous city, Seattle, Washington state is quite temperate and arid east of the Cascade mountain range. There, Washington state is characterised by hot summers and cool winters. If changing climate models indicate that hotter, drier days lie ahead, more aridity will affect the volume, flow and temperature of the Columbia River.
………………………………….“One of the biggest changes in the USA is going to be how precipitation like rain, snow and other precipitation events happen,” Kotamarthi said. “We may have really intense events with large amounts of rainfall in a very short time, followed by periods of no rain. These flash floods and flash droughts will make managing water a completely different task.” https://www.modernpowersystems.com/analysis/developing-a-plan-b-for-nuclear-power-in-washington/
Netanyahu ‘torpedoed’ Palestinian peace talks – CNN
https://www.rt.com/news/603450-netanyahu-derails-gaza-peace-talks/ 3 Sept 24
The Israeli prime minister has insisted on keeping troops in southern Gaza, along the Egyptian border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining an Israeli military presence in Gaza could undermine ongoing peace talks and jeopardize the release of hostages, CNN reported on Monday.
Officials from the administration of US President Joe Biden have reportedly been discussing ways of pushing the ceasefire and hostage deal forward, the outlet wrote. Peace efforts intensified following the discovery of six bodies, including that of an American-Israeli citizen, in an underground tunnel in the enclave over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Biden said his administration was “very close” to proposing a “final” hostage deal to both sides.
In a press conference in Jerusalem on the same day, however, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would not relinquish control over a strategic 14km strip of land along the Gaza-Egyptian border known as the Philadelphi corridor. An Israeli military presence there is vital to ensure victory over Hamas, he claimed.
In reaction to the statement, a source familiar with the discussions in Washington told CNN that “this guy [Netanyahu] torpedoed everything in one speech.”
The Israeli prime minister’s stance on the Philadelphi corridor has emerged as a key obstacle to a ceasefire deal. According to CNN sources familiar with the negotiations, Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining troops in Gaza represents a change in position.
The Israeli proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, which was submitted in May and negotiated with the help of Qatar, Egypt and the US, contains no mention of Philadelphi. Israel added its continued presence in the corridor as a “non-negotiable” condition in July.
Hamas has accused the Jewish state of prolonging negotiations by issuing new demands. Lead Hamas negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera on Sunday that there would be no deal without the Israeli military withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor.
Netanyahu’s latest comments also drew ire from the Israeli opposition and the families of the hostages who remain trapped in Gaza.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid dismissed the Israeli leader’s statements as “unfounded political spin,” arguing that Netanyahu’s new condition “has no relation to reality.”
The Hostages Families Forum said the prime minister’s remarks showed “that he does not intend to return the hostages.”
Hostilities between Israel and Hamas flared up when the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,100 people and taking more than 200 others hostage. Some were later released through prisoner swaps or were rescued by the Israeli army. According to Israel, Hamas is still holding 103 people captive in Gaza.
The massive military retaliation by Israel has claimed nearly 41,000 lives, mostly women and children in the enclave, according to Palestinian health officials.
UK suspends 30 arms exports to Israel over Gaza war crimes concerns
Arms campaigners and human rights groups welcome ban, but say move does not go far enough
MIDDLE EAST EYE, By Dania Akkad and Imran Mulla, 2 September 2024
The UK has suspended 30 arms export licences to Israel following a review under the new Labour government which found that British-made weapons may have been used in the violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Arms campaigners and rights advocates who have pressed for a full suspension of arms sales to Israel for months welcomed the decision, but criticised the continued export of F-35 fighter jet components which one called “a workhorse of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign”.
The suspension, announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy in parliament on Monday, covers components for other types of military aircraft, including fighter planes, helicopters and drones. Around 320 other licences, including for items for civilian use, remain in place.
Under its arms exporting criteria, the government is obligated to suspend licences for arms exports if it determines that there is a clear risk that British weapons might be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law.
“Facing a conflict such as this, it is this government’s legal duty to review export licences,” Lammy told MPs. ………………………………….
Lammy also said the government was “deeply concerned” about reports of mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, which the International Committee of the Red Cross has not been able to investigate after being denied access.
“My predecessor and major allies have raised these concerns,” he said of the detainees. “Regrettably, these have not been addressed satisfactorily.”
He added that Britain would continue to support Israel if it was under attack, particularly from Iran, announcing fresh sanctions against three members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. …………
‘Took too long, not far enough’
The announcement cames hours before two organisations which have challenged the UK government in the High Court over the continued exports were set to pursue fresh legal action in an attempt to force the exports to stop immediately.
Lawyers with the UK-based Global Legan Action Network (Glan) and the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq said they told the government last week of their intent to request an emergency order and had planned to do this at a Tuesday morning hearing.
But late on Monday, the organisations said they would now consider whether the announced ban was “extensive enough to meet the gravity of the situation and assess whether further litigation remains necessary”………………………………………
Without F-35 components included in the ban list, campaigners and human rights groups which have called for a blanket end of UK arms exports to Israel sales for months said the announcement fell short…………………………………………………………………. more https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-suspends-30-arms-exports-israel-over-gaza-war-crimes-concerns
Complex compensation scheme represents tacit admission that nuke dump causes blight.
Viewers familiar with the advice of TV house-hunters, Kirsty and Phil will
know that the ‘Location, Location, Location’ of a property relative to
local amenities and beauty spots is often a major determinant of price.
Imagine then how crestfallen an eager would-be purchaser on the show would
be to discover that the seaside home of their dreams they had just viewed
might in the future be blighted by a massive mining project akin to
building the Channel Tunnel, into which the UK’s most deadly stockpile of
radioactive waste would be deposited for eternity?
The UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities would be completely unsurprised that such news might cause prospective buyers to back out or make an offer for the property
which is substantially below the asking price.
This has been the fear of
some prospective property owners wishing to sell their homes in the three
Search Areas in West Cumbria and East Lincolnshire where investigations by
Nuclear Waste Services are currently underway to determine if these might
be the ‘location, location, location’ for their Geological Disposal
Facility.
NFLA 2nd Sept 2024
A staggering £5.5bn more of our taxpayers’ money to be thrown at this white elephant, Sizewell C nuclear
A Stop Sizewell C spokesperson said: “At a time when the overarching
message from the Labour government is that there is no money, this is an
extraordinary statement. Sizewell C has already chewed through £2.5bn, and
now we learn that there is the potential for a staggering £5.5bn more of
our taxpayers’ money to be thrown at this white elephant. “Labour
complained about a black hole in the country’s finances yet now they are
proposing to dig still further. Where would this cash come from?”
New Civil Engineer 2nd Sept 2024, https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/sizewell-c-to-receive-up-to-a-further-5-5bn-of-taxpayer-cash-02-09-2024/
Israel’s nuclear arsenal poses major threat to global peace’
Tehran Times, September 5, 2024
TEHRAN – Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Amir Saied Iravani, has said that the Israeli regime is threatening countries in the West Asia region with “nuclear annihilation”, warning the regime’s nuclear arsenal poses a significant threat to both regional and global peace and security.
Iravani made the comment on Wednesday as he was addressing the UN General Assembly on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests.
The following is the full text of his speech at the UN meeting:
“……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… In commemoration of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Nuclear-Weapon States (NWSs) should be mainly addressed, as they possess the capability to conduct such tests, with approximately 2,000 tests carried out since 1945, including 1,054 by the US alone.
At a time when all nuclear-armed states are planning to modernize, upgrade, or extend the life of their nuclear weapons and facilities, as well as develop new easy-to-use nuclear weapons, ending nuclear weapon testing is of outmost importance………………………………………………………………………………..
Commemoration of this day is also an opportunity for international community to make Israeli regime promptly accede to the NPT without any precondition and to place all of its nuclear facilities under the full-scope IAEA safeguards. The current situation is alarming, as the Israeli regime is threatening other regional countries with nuclear annihilation, and its nuclear arsenal poses a significant threat to both regional and global peace and security.
By observing this day, we should also renew our commitment to the noble goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons- the only absolute guarantee against the threat or use of these inhumane weapons.
As a signatory to the CTBT, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers this treaty a step toward nuclear disarmament, and in this context, believes it cannot substitute for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Consequently, nuclear disarmament must remain a top priority for the international community, and all forms of nuclear testing must be unequivocally prohibited. Such tests contradict both the letter and spirit of the CTBT and, more importantly, violate the legal obligations of the Nuclear-Weapon States under Article VI of the NPT. https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/503272/Israel-s-nuclear-arsenal-poses-major-threat-to-global-peace
Chernobyl Roulette by Serhii Plokhy review – gripping account of wartime chaos at Ukraine’s nuclear plant
Luke Harding, Mon 2 Sep 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/sep/01/chernobyl-roulette-by-serhii-plokhy-review-gripping-account-of-wartime-chaos-at-ukraines-nuclear-plant
The Ukrainian historian compellingly chronicles the singular courage and selflessness of atomic power station employees held hostage by Russian troops in 2022
Luke Harding, Mon 2 Sep 2024
On 24 February 2022, workers at the Chornobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine woke to the sound of explosions. A battle was going on, not far from the contaminated exclusion zone. By late afternoon, the Russians had arrived. A column of military vehicles pulled up at a checkpoint and an officer got out. Moscow, he said, was now in charge.
The plant’s 300 personnel – specialist operators and firefighters, plus troops from Ukraine’s national guard – became prisoners. Over the next few weeks, they kept the station’s systems going, working in cramped conditions and living side by side with their armed Russian masters. The enemy had invaded from Belarus. Its main force trundled onwards towards Kyiv.
Chernobyl Roulette by the Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy is a gripping account of the extraordinary events inside the plant (Plokhy spells the power station with an “e”). It is a tale of bravery and selflessness, reminiscent of the sacrifice demonstrated by the Chornobyl employees who went through the 1986 nuclear disaster, when reactor No 4 blew up. Some of those on duty in 2022 were involved in the original Soviet-era clean-up.
They included Valentyn Heiko, the 59-year-old shift foreman who was taken hostage with his colleagues. He proved to be a subtle and resilient leader. Heiko met the Russian commanders and told them they would have to follow Ukrainian safety rules and behave in a “civilised manner”. If they didn’t, he promised to unleash a radiation incident, killing them and everyone else. This was blackmail. And a bluff. It worked.
According to Heiko, some of the Russians were polite and rational. About a third of the soldiers, though, were brainwashed and often drunk. The occupiers moved into the fourth floor of the administration building. The station got crowded. There was a shortage of food, cigarettes and razors. The captive nuclear operators – unable to go home to the nearby town of Slavutych – grew beards and puffed on butts.
There were small acts of resistance. Liudmyla Kozak – one of 17 imprisoned women – refused a demand to wear a white armband. The Russians warned her she might be shot. Kozak found a white medical cap, embroidered it with a blue and yellow patch and wore that instead. An order was given to turn off the radio, which brought news of the Russian army’s setbacks around Kyiv. Staff switched it on anyway.
After three weeks, Heiko and his stressed and exhausted workmates could scarcely function. Astonishingly, 46 colleagues volunteered to replace them. The old shift exited the plant, travelled by bus through Belarus and crossed the Dnipro River in a fishing boat. Heiko carried the station’s Ukrainian flag with him. The new team went in the same way – uncertain if or when they would return.
The Kremlin’s occupation of the nuclear plant was an act of astounding recklessness. Soldiers dug trenches in the red forest, one of the world’s most toxic places. It is unclear if they suffered lasting health damage, their heads “full of sawdust”, as one gleeful Ukrainian official put it. Plokhy suggests this might be wishful thinking. Overall, though, radiation levels went up, as thousands of tracked Russian vehicles churned up deadly dust.
In the south of the country, meanwhile, another Russian unit captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe’s biggest. The attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at civilian infrastructure and damaged a reactor. Two and a half years on, the Russians are still there. Its turbine halls are stuffed with military kit and weapons. From the territory, they regularly bombard nearby Ukrainian towns with Grad missiles.
Last month, Russian soldiers started a fire in a cooling tower – an apparent warning, after Ukraine’s surprise counter-invasion of Russia’s Kursk region. Since the beginning of Moscow’s all-out attack, Vladimir Putin and his minions have issued a string of mass destruction threats directed at Kyiv and the west. State TV hosts talk about nuking London, Berlin and Paris.
The Chornobyl 2 story at least had a happy ending. On 30 March 2022, Russian servicemen fled north, as part of a pull-out from the Kyiv region. They departed with numerous items stolen from the plant: radiation dosimeters, computers and cars. In the town of Chornobyl, military looting parties carried off sacks of household goods. They even took ancient stuff: black-and-white TVs and video recorders.
The Ukrainian workers who put duty before personal survival narrowly averted another Chornobyl crisis. In Plokhy’s view, Moscow’s 2022 violent takeover of two atomic energy stations should serve as a “wake up call to the world”. It was, he argues, an act of nuclear terrorism carried out by a large nuclear power – a rogue one. The distinction between tactical nuclear weapons and civil nuclear facilities looks increasingly blurred, he says.
How the international community should respond to these alarming developments is less clear. Plokhy calls for a reform of the laws governing nuclear state behaviour and of the body that is supposed to administer them – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). When Russian tanks entered Chornobyl, the IAEA, led by Rafael Grossi, issued no condemnation of the Kremlin. Nor did it call on the occupiers to get out, appealing instead to “both sides”.
Plokhy is the author of several previous nonfiction books on Ukraine. These include Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy, which won the 2018 Baillie Gifford prize, and The Russo-Ukrainian War, an account of the conflict and its origins, published last year. Chernobyl Roulette is equally compelling. It salutes the singular men and women who stepped up – as their predecessors did before them – when protocols and governments failed.
IAEA chief on reviving Iran nuclear deal, preventing Russia-Ukraine nuclear disaster
ALARABIYA NEWS, 1 Sept 24,
In a special interview on Al Arabiya, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi discussed several pressing global nuclear issues. He highlighted the ongoing concerns related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, particularly the risks posed to nuclear power plants situated near active combat zones. Grossi emphasized the IAEA’s commitment to ensuring the safety of these facilities, despite the challenges and uncertainties. He stressed the importance of the agency’s impartiality, noting that their assessments are based solely on independently verified information to avoid politicization.
The IAEA chief also addressed the Iranian nuclear program, expressing concerns over the country’s continued accumulation of highly enriched uranium. He revealed that he had received a response from Iran’s new president, signaling a potential for renewed dialogue aimed at ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities. Grossi underscored the need for increased transparency and cooperation from Iran, especially in light of advancements in their nuclear capabilities……………………………………………… https://english.alarabiya.net/webtv/programs/special-interview/2024/09/01/iaea-chief-on-reviving-iran-nuclear-deal-preventing-russia-ukraine-nuclear-disaster—
Fukushima fishermen not in the clear yet
Japan Times 1 Sept 24
A year has passed since treated water containing trace amounts of tritium started to be released into the sea from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
While the move is said to have had no significant impact on the prices of fishery products, tourism or the surrounding environment, challenges remain, including a number of hurdles for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ decommissioning of its reactors and measures to reduce the generation of contaminated water………………………………………………………..
In the absence of price decreases, the central and prefectural governments conclude that there has been almost no reputational impact to seafood from the region.
However, those in the local fisheries industry say the prices are holding up because there is momentum to support Fukushima, but they are not optimistic about the future due to it being a temporary measure.
The trading of Joban-mono increased in response to a central government initiative after the treated water started to be released.
But this process is expected to continue for around 30 years.
In April, the release of treated water was temporarily halted after a worker accidentally damaged a power cable at the Fukushima plant, partially cutting off the supply of power.
If such incidents continue to occur, they could pose reputational risks to Joban-mono.
………………………………………………………………………………………….. the local fishermen have lost trust in the central government after it decided on proceeding with the plan to release the treated water into the ocean despite opposition from the fisheries industry in and out of Fukushima Prefecture.
In announcing the decision, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Even though operations will last for decades, the government will take responsibility until the release is completed.”
The local fishing industry has become increasingly distrustful of Kishida, who suddenly expressed his intention of not seeking reelection as Liberal Democratic Party leader in this month’s presidential race.
“Concerns over treated water will remain for a long time,” a Fukushima fisheries industry official said. “We want the government to work with us as one to cope with the issue.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/09/02/japan/society/fukushima-fisheries-radioactive-water/
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