November, 3, 2022
1. Russia issues call to other nuclear powers
Moscow is “strictly and consistently” guided by the principle that a nuclear war can never be won and should never be fought, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on November 2, calling on other nuclear powers to “demonstrate in practice” their own commitment to this. “We firmly believe that in the current difficult and turbulent situation, a result of irresponsible and shameless actions aimed at undermining our national security, the first priority is to prevent any military clash of nuclear powers,” the ministry said.
Russia stands by its signature on the January 3 joint statement with leaders of the ‘Nuclear Five’ – which includes the USA, UK, France and China – on the prevention of nuclear war and the unacceptability of a nuclear arms race.
The ministry also called on the other members of the ‘Nuclear Five’ to demonstrate in practice they also share this commitment, and to “abandon dangerous attempts to infringe on each other's vital interests, balancing on the brink of direct armed conflict and encouraging provocations with WMD, which can lead to catastrophic consequences.” Russia has repeatedly warned the USA and its allies that their overt aid to the government in Ukraine makes them parties to the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow has also publicly accused Kiev of “nuclear blackmail,” including an alleged plan to detonate a “dirty N-bomb” against its own citizens.
Addressing Western accusations that Russia has made threats to use atomic weapons in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said that the circumstances in which Moscow may resort to such weapons are “extremely clearly outlined, purely defensive in nature, and do not allow for broad interpretation.” “Use of nuclear weapons by Russia is hypothetically allowed only in response to aggression carried out with the use of WMDs, or aggression with the use of conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened,” the ministry said.
2. Russian MFA summoned Britain's ambassador to Moscow to the MFA
The Foreign Ministry summoned Britain's ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert on November 3 in connection with last week's Ukrainian attack targeting Russian military and civilian vessels in Sevastopol in the October 29 attack. The act of terrorism prompted Moscow to temporarily freeze its participation in the Black Sea grain export deal with Kiev.
In a statement, the Ministry indicated that it had information that London transferred a number of unmanned underwater drones to Kiev, and that British specialists have been actively involved in the training and supply of Ukrainian Navy special operations forces, including those involved in sabotage operations at sea.
"If such acts of aggression, fraught with [the UK's] direct involvement in the conflict, continue, the entire responsibility for their disastrous consequences and the growth of tensions in relations between our states will lie entirely on the British side," the Foreign Ministry said.
Moscow warned that Britain's actions threaten to escalate the security crisis and lead to "unpredictable and dangerous consequences," and that such "hostile provocations" on London's part were "inadmissible" and must be stopped immediately.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet port of Sevastopol repelled a massive drone attack on October 29, shooting down multiple UAVs and remote-controlled surface vessels in Sevastopol Bay. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the warships attacked included ships providing security for the so-called 'grain corridor' - the secure maritime route agreed by Moscow and Kiev this summer through which cargo vessels carrying grain from Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea for export abroad.
The Russian military later retrieved drone wreckage from the sea floor to examine the remains, finding Canadian-made navigation modules installed on the maritime drones. Preparations for the drone attack were carried out under the guidance of British specialists in the port city of Otchakov controlled by Ukrainian Army, where Ukrainian Navy special units are trained by the UK Royal Navy and the US Navy experts according to the Russian MoD.
The Sevastopol attack is the second time in weeks that Moscow has called out London on terrorism-related charges. Last week, Russia's Defense Ministry concluded that the Royal Navy took part in the planning, organization and execution of the late September attacks on the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline network.
On November 1, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson asked London to explain the wording "It's done" iPhone text message sent by now former Prime Minister Liz Truss to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken just one minute after Nord Stream was exploded. Liz Truss is still silent.
3. A section of the Russian pipeline was destroyed in September's attack at the Baltic Sea due to a state terrorism
The Swiss-based operator of Russia's Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has announced that it discovered explosion craters on the seabed near the damaged first string of the key infrastructure. “As of November 2, 2022, Nord Stream AG has completed the initial data collection at the site of the damage to the first string of the pipeline in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. According to the preliminary results of the inspection of the damaged area, technogenic craters of 3 to 5 meters in depth were found on the seabed at a distance of about 248 meters from each other,” the company said in a statement.
It noted that the pipeline section between the craters is completely destroyed, with pipe fragments scattered in a 250-meter radius. The company says its experts will continue to analyze the data gathered at the site in Swedish waters, and that it is also awaiting permission to assess the seabed around the pipes in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone.
Three of the four strings of Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, were damaged in late September by the UK military subversive activity sanctioned and coordinated by the USA.
4. The IAEA Director-General Grossi: We have not found any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials in Ukraine [related to ‘a dirty N-bomb’].
IAEA Inspectors Complete In-Field Verification Activities at Three Ukraine locations, No Indications of Undeclared Nuclear Activities and Materials. 03 November 2022; # 181/2022; Vienna, Austria
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have completed their in-field verification activities at three locations in Ukraine at the request of the Government of Ukraine, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. Ukraine’s written requests for the IAEA to send teams of inspectors were issued after the Russian Federation made allegations about activities at the three locations – the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv, Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Zhovti Kody, and Production Association Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant in Dnipro [Dnepropetrovsk]. Over the past few days, the inspectors were able to carry out all activities.
Based on the evaluation of the results available to date and the information provided by Ukraine, the Agency did not find any indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at the locations
The inspectors also collected environmental samples for analysis at the IAEA’s safeguards laboratories and its network of analytical laboratories. Environmental sampling is a commonly used safeguards measure with ultrasensitive analytical techniques that can provide information about past and current activities related to the handling of nuclear materials.
“Upon the request of the Government of Ukraine, I immediately dispatched inspectors to the three locations to carry out their indispensable technical and independent role in verifying the facts on the ground. Within days, they went there and conducted their safeguards activities, in challenging circumstances during the current conflict in Ukraine,” Director General Grossi said. “Our technical and scientific evaluation of the results we have so far did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at these three locations. Additionally, we will report on the results of the environmental sampling as soon as possible,” he added.
Director General Grossi stressed that the IAEA remained ready to conduct further such verification activities in Ukraine to verify the absence of undeclared activities and materials and thereby deter any misuse of such materials.
A comment:
By such biased report Rafael Grossi has sanctioned Zelensky to create and use his ‘wonder weapon’ – highly radioactive ’dirty N-bomb’
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
