LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #954 Thursday, (06/05/2025)

End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

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Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Jun 05, 2025

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Ukraine releases dramatic FPV footage of drone attack on Russian airbases – video

Ukraine releases dramatic FPV footage of drone attack on Russian airbases (See article)

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion

So the beat goes on and the tension rises as global turmoil grows more concerning wherever there is war or threats of war. There is plenty of both, and the nuclear side of it all continues to become closer to reality rather than mere threats.

One article today pointed out that if cheap drones can virtually wipe out airports filled with multi-billion dollar military grade bombers capable of carrying the most powerful nuclear bombs, it means that the strategic value of drones in nuclear war situations can change by limiting the ability of nuclear powers to achieve their military purpose, as has recently been demonstrated by Ukraine’s successful attack on nuclear-capable but idle Russian bombers being destroyed at their bases.

Such implications of new technology and intelligent action can change the shape of a war. Like any new weapon that can successfully achieve its mission during an actual war, that weapon is going to become an integral part of any military mission, but such a weapon may also prompt a war that begins sooner rather than later in order to avoid similar future successful enemy missions that have not yet been fully developed.

And of course, there still remains the long range nuclear-warheaded ICBM missile that is capable of destroying an entire city and its surrounds, such as Washington D.C., with a single ballistic missile. How do we deal with that? No one actually knows. ~llaw

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Ukraine

Kremlin and Trump aides raise nuclear war fears after Ukraine drone strike

Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia will respond to Kyiv’s attacks on nuclear-capable aircraft at airfields

Andrew Roth in Washington

Wed 4 Jun 2025 17.42 EDT

As Vladimir Putin pledges to retaliate against Ukraine for last weekend’s unprecedented drone attack, Kremlin advisers and figures around Donald Trump have told the US president that the risk of a nuclear confrontation is growing, in an attempt to pressure him to further reduce US support for Ukraine.

Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and an important intermediary between the Kremlin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, called the Ukrainian drone strike an attack on “Russian nuclear assets”, and echoed remarks from Maga-friendly figures warning of the potential for a third world war.

“Clear communication is urgent – to grasp reality and the rising risks before it’s too late,” Dmitriev wrote, adding a dove emoji.

Ukraine claimed that the strike damaged more than 40 Russian planes, including Tu-95 and Tu-22M heavy bombers that have been used to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities throughout the war, killing thousands and damaging crucial infrastructure that delivers heat and electricity to millions more.

Ukraine releases dramatic FPV footage of drone attack on Russian airbases – video
4:42

Ukraine releases dramatic FPV footage of drone attack on Russian airbases – video

But those planes can also carry weapons armed with nuclear warheads, and are part of a nuclear triad along with submarine and silo-based missiles that form the basis for a system of deterrence between Russia and the United States.

After a phone call between the two leaders on Wednesday, Trump said: “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

Screengrab from Operation Spiderweb Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airbases
Operation Spiderweb: a visual guide to Ukraine’s destruction of Russian aircraft

Read more

Ukraine voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994, in return for security assurances from the US, the UK and Russia.

Those skeptical of US support for Ukraine are seizing on the risks of a nuclear confrontation to argue that the conflict could possibly spin out of control.

Maga (Make America great again) influencers such as Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk have openly condemned the drone attack, with Bannon likening the strike to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and Kirk writing: “Most people aren’t paying attention, but we’re closer to nuclear war than we’ve been since this began in 2022.”

But more centrist advisers within the Trump camp – including some who have closer links to Ukraine – are also warning that the risks of a nuclear conflict are growing as they seek to maintain Trump’s interest in brokering a peace.

“The risk levels are going way up,” Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Fox News. “When you attack an opponent’s part of their [nuclear] triad, your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other side is going to do. And that’s what they did.”

Kellogg also repeated rumours that Ukraine had struck the Russian nuclear fleet at Severomorsk, although reports of an explosion there have not been confirmed. He said the US was “trying to avoid” an escalation.

Other current and former members of the administration skeptical of US support for Ukraine have also vocally opposed the drone strikes.

“It is not in America’s interest for Ukraine to be attacking Russia’s strategic nuclear forces the day before another round of peace talks,” said Dan Caldwell, an influential foreign policy adviser who was a senior aide to Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon until he was purged amid a scandal over leaks last month.

“This has the potential to be highly escalatory and raises the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and Nato,” he said. “US should not only distance itself from this attack but end any support that could directly or indirectly enable attacks against Russian strategic nuclear forces.”

It is not the first time that concerns over Russia’s use of a nuclear weapon have been used to try to temper US support for Ukraine.

As Moscow’s forces were routed near Kharkiv and in the south at Kherson in September 2022, Russian officials sent signals that the Kremlin was considering using a battlefield nuclear weapon, senior Biden officials have said.

National security officials said they believed that if the Russian lines collapsed and left open the potential for a Ukrainian attack on Crimea, there would be a 50% chance that Russia would use a nuclear weapon as a result.

Ukrainian officials have responded by saying that Russia has embellished its threats of a nuclear attack in order to blackmail the US from giving greater support to Ukraine.

Why you can rely on the Guardian not to bow to Trump – or anyone

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask whether you could support the Guardian’s journalism as we face the unprecedented challenges of covering this administration.

As Trump himself observed: “The first term, everybody was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”

He’s not entirely wrong. Already, several large corporate-owned news organizations have settled multimillion-dollar lawsuits with the president in order to protect their business interests. Meanwhile, billionaires have intervened editorially in the news outlets they own to limit potentially unfavorable coverage of the president.

The Guardian is different: we have no interest in being Donald Trump’s – or any politician’s – friend. Our allegiance as independent journalists is not to those in power but to the public. Whatever happens in the coming months and years, you can rely on the Guardian never to bow down to power, nor back down from truth.

How are we able to stand firm in the face of intimidation and threats? As journalists say: follow the money. The Guardian has neither a self-interested billionaire owner nor profit-seeking corporate henchmen pressuring us to appease the rich and powerful. We are funded by our readers and owned by the Scott Trust – whose only financial obligation is to preserve our journalistic mission in perpetuity.

What’s more, in a time of rising, democracy-threatening misinformation, we make our fiercely independent journalism free to all, with no paywall – so that everyone in the US can have access to responsible, fact-based news.

With the administration already cracking down on free speech, banning reporters from the Oval Office, and the president and his allies pursuing lawsuits against news outlets whose stories they don’t like, it has never been more urgent, or more perilous, to pursue fair, accurate reporting. Can you support the Guardian today?

We value whatever you can spare, but a recurring contribution makes the most impact, enabling greater investment in our most crucial, fearless journalism. As our thanks to you, we can offer you some great benefits – including seeing far fewer fundraising messages like this. We’ve made it very quick to set up, so we hope you’ll consider it. Thank you.

Betsy Reed

Editor, Guardian US

Betsy Reed

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ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Thursday, (06/05/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Trump and Putin discuss Ukraine drone strikes, Iran during 75-minute call – KGOU

KGOU

All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM National Native News. 0:00. 0:00 … about Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian aircraft and about nuclear talks …

The latest on U.S. talks with Iran over its nuclear program | Iowa Public Radio

Iowa Public Radio

President Trump has accused Iran of “slow walking” talks to reach a deal over its nuclear … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM The Daily. 0:00. 0 …

The latest on U.S. talks with Iran over its nuclear program – NEPM

NEPM

President Trump has accused Iran of “slow walking” talks to reach a deal over its nuclear … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:30 PM Marketplace. 0:00.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear fusion record smashed as German scientists take ‘a significant step forward’ to near …

Live Science

Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator has set a new benchmark for fusion reactors, bringing commercial, near-limitless clean energy one step …

How Europe can make nuclear energy a key part of its clean industrial future

Clean Air Task Force

By integrating nuclear energy into the Clean Industrial Deal’s State Aid Framework, the EU can ensure industries have access to reliable clean …

Iran’s supreme leader criticises US proposal for nuclear agreement – BBC

BBC

US reports say it proposes that Iran halt all production of enriched uranium – which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons – and …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Louisiana’s nuclear plants struggled for stability long before May blackout

New Orleans CityBusiness

These nuclear plant outages — both scheduled and unplanned — became a key factor in a May 25 emergency power shutoff that left nearly 100,000 ..

Aging Pennsylvania Power Plant to Keep Running After Trump Order on Eve of Shutdown

Inside Climate News

… Energy says the plant, fueled by oil and gas, will help avert an energy “emergency … Meta Strikes 20-Year Nuclear Power Deal With Constion Energy

Britain prepares to go all-in on nuclear power — after years of dither – Politico.eu

Politico.eu

Five nuclear power plants currently meet 15 percent of the U.K.’s energy … A global emergency: Tackling antimicrobial resistance · Living Cities .

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Kremlin and Trump aides raise nuclear war fears after Ukraine drone strike – The Guardian

The Guardian

… nuclear weapon as a result. Ukrainian officials have responded by saying that Russia has embellished its threats of a nuclear attack in order to …

Ukraine’s Drone Swarms Are Destroying Russian Nuclear Bombers. What Happens Now? – CSIS

CSIS

Past events suggest that Russia may respond with nuclear threats if it perceives Western involvement, but the scale of the attack may elicit a …

Trump envoy says risk levels ‘going way up’ after Ukraine struck Russian bombers | Reuters

Reuters

… nuclear-capable bombers at several airbases deep inside Russia … Read Next. Worldcategory · Expanding missile threats and airspace closures are …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Kremlin and Trump aides raise nuclear war fears after Ukraine drone strike – The Guardian

The Guardian

Vladimir Putin has warned Russia will respond to Kyiv’s attacks on nuclear-capable aircraft at airfields.

Trump: Putin says Russia will ‘have to’ respond to Ukraine attacks – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

US president says Putin also suggested he would participate in talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal with Tehran … war on day one, but …

Nuclear war is getting more likely by the week – The Washington Post

The Washington Post

Post Opinions is embarking on a new series in which experts from the Federation of American Scientists examine the threat of nuclear conflict. I would …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Volcano scientists listen in on Yellowstone geyser activity

Buckrail – Jackson Hole, news

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Continuous infrasound monitoring has been established in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), and scientists at the …

WATCH: New Eruption Recorded at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park

107.9 LITE FM

Some believe Yellowstone National Park is a ticking time bomb and that the Yellowstone Caldera is only a matter of a few earthquakes away from blowing …

Black Diamond Pool erupts in the Yellowstone National Park | Watch – MSN

MSN

… Yellowstone Caldera remains at background levels—a typical, low-level volcanic and seismic activity with no signs of imminent eruption. The …

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