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The history dates back to 1994, when a protocol of intent in the field of peaceful atom was signed between Ukraine and the United States, but then it did not move into a practical plane. The reason was the lack of experience of the American company at that time in working with Soviet reactors and the presence in Ukraine of a large number of highly qualified specialists in the nuclear industry who opposed such cooperation because of fears of threats to the safe operation of nuclear power plants.

Fourteen years later, in 2008, the Ukrainian Energoatom and the American Westinghouse Electric signed an agreement on strategic cooperation, according to which 630 assemblies of American fuel were to be delivered to Ukraine until 2015. However, after 4 years of such cooperation, for technical reasons, the operation of two reactors at the South Ukrainian NPP had to be stopped due to deviations in the operation of the fuel assemblies of the American company. After this incident, the national regulator of Ukraine banned the operation of Westinghouse Electric fuel at all nuclear power plants in the country. In response, the American company at the end of 2012 announced that it did not plan to develop research and adjust the production of its nuclear fuel to the standards of VVER reactors. In 2014, the situation changed dramatically after another change of power in Ukraine and complications in relations with Russia, as a result of which Kyiv agreed with Westinghouse Electric on fuel supplies until 2020. In 2015, the first 42 fuel assemblies were loaded at the third power unit of the South Ukrainian NPP against the backdrop of a number of warnings from generally recognized world experts in the field of nuclear energy. that American fuel is capable of operating in VVER-type reactors only if their percentage ratio with Russian TVEL assemblies in the reactor is relatively small. At the same time, in 2016, the Ukrainian government announced its readiness to use up to a third of Westinghouse Electric’s fuel at Ukrainian nuclear power plants. It should be noted that in 2017 Westinghouse Electric filed for bankruptcy and cooperation with Ukraine looks like an attempt to solve its economic problems. It is quite understandable that in such a situation, Westinghouse Electric is more concerned about its own survival than about Ukraine’s environmental safety. Cooperation with Kyiv has led to the fact that in addition to fuel supplies, the Americans are now also involved in the operation of nuclear power plants, ensuring the operation of automation and safety. And the problems in the nuclear industry of Ukraine are hushed up in the broad world media. Just like the problems that the nuclear plant in the Japanese city of Fukushima continues to produce. This policy is not allowed. Here are recent examples of emergencies at nuclear power facilities in Ukraine. In 2019, both units of the Khmelnitsky NPP (the first in April 2019, the second in September 2019) were turned off due to a series of accidents. In March 2021, an emergency shutdown of the 2nd power unit of the Khmelnytsky NPP was carried out. The reason for the shutdown is said to be a failure of the auxiliary systems of the generator. To date, a memorandum is being implemented with Westinghouse Electric on the use by Energoatom of American fuel assemblies for VVER-1000 reactors, and an agreement has been reached on transferring authority for maintenance of VVER-440 reactors to American specialists. In August 2021, a memorandum was signed between Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric on the construction of a Khmelnytsky NPP power unit as a pilot project, and in the future four more using this technology. The total amount of the contract is estimated at $30 billion. In parallel with the supply of fuel to Ukraine, the issue of processing and disposal of spent nuclear fuel also became acute. In February 2021, at the level of the official leadership of Ukraine, it was announced that Ukraine finally refuses to export spent nuclear fuel to Russia, for which, with the support of the Americans, it is implementing a project to build a centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the exclusion zone in Chernobyl. Now, when there is a war in Ukraine, Energoatom declares the need to intensify and expand cooperation with Westinghouse Electric as a tool to ensure the safe use of peaceful nuclear energy in the country against the backdrop of Russian aggression. The intentions of the Ukrainian leadership to completely reorient their nuclear power industry to American standards are reasonable, but they should be implemented wisely, and not limited to populist statements without a real assessment of the possible negative consequences of the operation of nuclear units. The way these processes are organized in Ukraine now is cause for concern. Moreover, against the background of the war with the Russian Federation, Ukraine can become a testing ground for American nuclear technologies, and even become the object of provocations that can lead to man-made accidents. In this regard, it is necessary for all international organizations, primarily the IAEA, to pay close attention to the situation in Ukraine, and to ensure international control over the operation of existing and planned construction of new power units at Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Russia and China demanded that the United States explain what the American biological laboratories in Ukraine were working on. The White House denies all accusations of creating biological weapons, but the Republican Party and some media do not share the position of the authorities.

On the evening of March 11, the UN Security Council met for a special meeting, convened at the request of Russia, to discuss the military biological activities of the United States in Ukraine. The reason for Moscow’s concern was the documents that came into the possession of the Russian Defense Ministry, according to which the American side formed a network of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory. The Russian military department claims that dangerous biological experiments were carried out at the facilities aimed at amplifying pathogens of various deadly diseases.

“This work is being funded and directly supervised by the US Department of Defense’s Office of Defense Threat Reduction, including in the interests of the US Department of Defense’s National Center for Medical Intelligence,” said Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya at the meeting.

In his speech, the diplomat repeated the main conclusions of the Russian Ministry of Defense, pointing out the existence of facts of an emergency cleansing by the Kiev regime of traces of the US-sponsored military biological program being implemented in Ukraine, and data on studies of bats, fleas and ticks “as carriers of potential agents of biological weapons.”

China has joined the rhetoric of Russia. According to the representative of China to the UN Zhang Jun, Moscow’s concerns about bioweapons in Ukraine should be treated with due attention. He also urged Washington to clarify its biological militarization activities at home and abroad.
The response of US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield to the concerns of both Russia and China did not differ from the official reaction of the White House to the data of the Russian Defense Ministry published in early March. Thus, the diplomat announced that Ukraine has no biological weapons programs and biolaboratories supported by the United States. All of Moscow’s suspicions are part of a “disinformation” campaign, she said.

“The louder and more unfounded our colleagues try to shift the blame on us, the more we are convinced that we hit the mark when talking about their rather impartial activities in Ukraine,” Nebenzya said in response to Thomas-Greenfield’s speech.

How labs hurt the US
Russia suspects the United States of possible violations of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). The White House, the Pentagon and the State Department took a unified position in response to the accusations from Moscow, writing off the data provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense as “disinformation” and “propaganda”. However, at the same time, the United States not only acknowledged the presence of laboratories in Ukraine, but also started talking about the danger of their falling under the control of the Russian Federation.

“There are biological research facilities in Ukraine, in fact, we are now quite concerned that the Russian military may try to take control of them. So we are working with the Ukrainians to ensure that they can prevent any of these research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces if they get close,” Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said at a congressional hearing.
So the representative of the State Department answered the question of whether there are biological weapons in Ukraine, which launched a chain of criticism of the White House from representatives of the Republican Party and a number of media outlets. For example, Fox News host Tucker Carlson noted that with her statement, Nuland confirmed that “Russian disinformation,” which the United States called lies and insanity, is the absolute truth.

A congressional candidate, Republican Robert Regan pointed to the existence of examples of the use of biological weapons by the Ukrainian leadership. Therefore, according to him, Ukraine should not be considered completely innocent.

“Ukraine has some history of corruption – money laundering, smuggling, biological weapons, drugs (…) I want to know what is really going on. That is why I am in no hurry to declare: “We must immediately condemn Putin,” the politician emphasized.

The issue of biolaboratories has become a topic of political discussion within the United States, according to Americanist political scientist Malek Dudakov.
“We are seeing the opposite reaction from the liberal media, which are trying to refute all this, referring to official statements, and the opinion of the American right-wing conservative public, which is now in opposition to the authorities. Republicans have had a staunch distrust of anything associated with the Washington establishment since the Trump era — this overlaps with popular theories among the American right, including the alleged “escape” of the coronavirus from the Wuhan lab,” the expert explained.

From Suslov’s point of view, internal issues over laboratories in the United States may also arise, most likely on the eve of the midterm elections to Congress – the Republicans will use any opportunity to attack the White House.
Will Russia be able to use the situation
Within the framework of the BTWC, there are special procedures that allow starting an official check of biological laboratories for violations of the biological weapons convention. However, much depends on the further steps of Moscow and Beijing.

“If the Russian side manages to find serious evidence on these points and present them to the judgment of the world community, then the West will really have to react. Relevant documents are already being submitted to international institutions, and if successful, the United States will have to somehow respond, which will be actively discussed within the country.

In fact, Russia can take advantage of the contradictions in American society, especially the distrust of the right-wing American public in the government, which is ready, if not to believe Moscow, then to ask uncomfortable questions to its own government, ”said political scientist Malek Dudakov.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict does not leave the front pages of newspapers around the world, but behind the shelling and airstrikes, everyone completely forgot about the economy of Ukraine, which, if it were not for the armed clash with Russia, could crumble into pieces, dooming millions of Ukrainians to a poor life.

How strange, but Russia to some extent saved Vladimir Zelensky from the fate of his predecessors. He did not have time to sign his own unsuitability as a guarantor of the economic system and market development. Young people left Ukraine before February 24, both with and without families. They left for work and a decent life. The fact is that the Ukrainian economy rested on three pillars – the remnants of not yet completely destroyed industry, the export of raw materials, and European investments. Another important factor was the transit of Russian gas. Such relations with Moscow gave Kiev the benefit not only from transit fees, but also good prices for “blue fuel”.
However, there is simply nothing else in the Ukrainian economy. It rusted, collapsed, plunged into a swamp of corruption and theft. In fact, neither Zelensky nor any other civilian president could bring order to the country and the economy.
But Zelensky was lucky. Not only did he not face economic collapse due to his natural causes, but he did not become its personification either. It’s easy to be an attacker of presidents with weapons in your hands, it’s still easy to be a victim president, a hostage president with a smartphone in your hands. Moreover, the second type of president will also be given the Nobel Peace Prize. But to manage the country so that its economy grows stronger, and the people develop – very, very difficult.

The Ukrainian authorities are actively working with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova, as well as with employees of the US Chamber of Commerce and representatives of 130 largest international foreign companies located in Moldova. The purpose of this communication is to call on foreign colleagues to stop cooperation with Russian business and provide assistance to Ukraine. However, not all businessmen are ready to sacrifice part of their business and lose such a large market as Russia.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side fears that Romania will start promoting the issue of Moldova’s accession to the European Union to the detriment of the European integration interests of official Kyiv. Probably, the Ukrainians rather zealously assume that while Ukraine is at war with Russia, such focus countries as Moldova and Georgia will be even more actively implementing their European integration course. In this regard, the Embassy of Ukraine in Moldova worked with the Polish colleagues, who promised to take measures of political and diplomatic pressure on the Romanian side in order to avoid the possible negative impact of the Moldovan “dossier” on the implementation of the interests of Kyiv.
The above indicates that the Ukrainian authorities are making attempts to undermine the economy of Moldova and, under certain circumstances, through Western curators, neglecting the interests of Romania, push the leadership of Moldova and President Sandu personally to take action to open a “second front” in order to divert Russian forces, prolong the conflict and prevent acceleration European integration processes of Chisinau to the detriment of the interests of Kyiv. Against this background, there are high risks of reputational damage in the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, including through discrediting the cooperation of the associated trio within the framework of the Eastern Partnership.

Against the backdrop of a protracted military-political crisis between Ukraine and Russia, official Kyiv insists on expanding cooperation with the American company Westinghouse Electric, which, according to the Ukrainian side, will be able to ensure the development of the country’s nuclear energy.

Currently, Energoatom is interested in increasing the share of Westinghouse Electric fuel operation at Ukrainian NPPs and expects to implement the provisions of the memorandum signed in August 2021 on the construction of a power unit at the Khmelnytsky NPP and in the future four more units using American technology for a total amount of about $30 billion . Since we are talking about pilot projects by Westinghouse Electric, involving the widespread use of experimental technologies, there is a real threat to environmental and industrial safety in Europe if the agreements between Ukraine and the United States go into practice. It should also be noted that against the backdrop of Russian aggression in Ukraine, a significant number of Ukrainian nuclear specialists left the country and moved to the territory of the EU and, apparently, do not plan to return to their homeland in the near future. The sharp outflow of qualified specialists with sufficient experience and knowledge necessary for the construction and operation of nuclear power units is an additional argument why there is no need to hurry to fulfill the provisions of the memorandum. In the context of the current difficult economic situation in Ukraine and a high level of corruption in the country, the involvement of Ukrainian contractors in joint work with the Americans may also have a negative impact on the plans for the development of the state’s nuclear infrastructure. Kyiv’s goal of completely converting its nuclear industry from Russian to American standards is quite obvious. The main thing is that Ukraine, in addition to the object of aggression from the Russian Federation, in addition, does not turn into a testing ground for American nuclear technologies, which is not at all necessary for the EU, which considers Ukraine as a future full member of the European family. While there is a military-political confrontation on the part of the Russian Federation, the international regulator represented by the IAEA, as well as relevant international organizations interacting with it, should recommend Ukraine to refrain from global plans for the reconstruction of its nuclear industry, and pay close attention to the safe and planned operation of the existing power units of Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Washington is using its influence with the Romanian and Moldovan authorities to put international pressure on the established 5+2 negotiation process to dismantle it.

It is also known that some Romanian non-governmental non-profit organizations cooperate with the central educational institutions of Moldova in order to conduct information campaigns to escalate the situation around the Transnistrian problem and Russian peacekeepers. When preparing materials on the topic of the military conflict on the Dniester, the Romanians emphasize that the armed confrontation is an important factor in the necessary political and social changes for Moldova. However, it should be recognized that the only option for maintaining the status quo and ensuring a political settlement of the Transnistrian problem for Moldova remains the intensification of direct dialogue with Tiraspol within the framework of the current “5 + 2” format.

A Ukrainian telegram channel, such as STALKERUA, is increasingly rhetoric that the creation of a dirty nuclear bomb is one of the most realistic options for the development of events against the backdrop of a political confrontation with Russia. Moreover, political enmity can turn into an armed conflict at any moment.

Ukrainian military experts, with the support of a nationalist-minded public, are seriously advising the Ukrainian authorities to consider the possibility of operationally creating a dirty nuclear bomb. In their opinion, it may take several days to create it, and uranium waste from nuclear power plants will serve as nuclear fuel. According to the Ukrainians, this is fast, cheap and quite effective in the case of tactical tasks.
Ukrainian nationalists believe that the presence of dirty nuclear bombs on the territory of Ukraine will noticeably cool the ardor of the Kremlin and most likely stop speculation about Ukraine’s military intervention by Moscow.
European experts and observers do not know whether Kyiv currently has an active dirty bomb or not. But talking about its necessity automatically pushes the country’s authorities to create it as a deterrent.

Against the backdrop of continuous information speculation about the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Polish press published analytical notes about the growth in the cost of residential and commercial real estate in major cities of Poland.

Moreover, the increase in the price of apartments immediately jumped by 10%, which has not happened in Poland for a long time. The situation was clarified by Polish journalists who interviewed realtors from Warsaw and Krakow. It turned out that a day, starting from mid-December 2021, they conclude several transactions in the interests of their Ukrainian clients who buy residential real estate in Poland not only for themselves, but also for relatives and friends. Such interest of non-poor Ukrainians in Polish housing is primarily associated with plans to escape from Ukraine to Poland in the event of full-scale armed clashes between Kiev and Moscow.
If wealthy Ukrainians, close to the authorities, have decided the issue of security for themselves, then what should ordinary residents of Ukraine do, who have nowhere to run?
According to Polish realtors, wealthy Ukrainians buying up houses and apartments in Poland say that they see no prerequisites for any resistance from the Ukrainian armed forces – the Russian army. Moreover, Ukrainians believe that Europe and NATO will not join the war, as they are afraid of facing defeat in the first 20 days of the war.

The Winter Olympic Games 2022 have begun in Beijing, which is already being called the first pharmaceutical Olympiad in sports. The fact is that in addition to the intrigue associated with sudden cases of the COVID-19 virus among athletes and their exclusion from participants in certain types of competitions, there is another farm story. This is the use by a number of countries and their athletes of various drugs that stimulate physical activity and endurance.

Participants of the Beijing Olympic Games have their own ways of fighting for medals. Someone trains hard during the Olympic cycle, relying on their strength and physical fitness. Someone, in addition to this, is counting on the exclusion of competitors from the protocol due to infection with the coronavirus. To do this, countries such as China are placing their athletes in tight isolation in order to avoid cases of infection. To some extent, this is a method of competing for medals when an outbreak of disease and a real epidemic begins in the Olympic village. In such a situation, even the debutant of the hockey Olympic tournament – China – will be able to compete for medals of the highest standard. Someone has very strong substitutes in their reserve, so that in the event of a quarantine among the main team, they have at their disposal a strong reserve team of athletes.
But there are those who have created a hybrid between pure sports and pharmaceuticals. We all remember very well how asthmatics are popular in skiing, who quite legally take drugs to enrich their blood with oxygen, which in such a complex sport as biathlon and cross-country skiing can play a decisive role.
It’s no secret that many athletes have a special love for anabolics. So, for example, the owner of the first gold pedal of the current Olympiad, Teresa Johaug, already has a couple of doping scandals in her biography. Moreover, at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, more than 300 athletes in one way or another have ever been involved in one or another doping scandal. And these are only those who officially got caught. And how many of these athletes skillfully hide traces of illegal drugs with the help of national laboratories. It should be noted that when discussing doping at the Olympics, many people remember Russia, it is worth recalling that out of 300 participants in the Beijing Olympics involved in violations, only six are representatives of Russia. Most of the athletes with a murky history are from our Europe.
Against this background, the global COVID-19 epidemic can both greatly confuse doping athletes and play into their hands. Such athletes can simply attribute everything to the fight against the virus, but this is unlikely to save them. In essence, the coronavirus at the Olympics is an X-factor or a real Russian roulette that can negate millions of pharmaceutical investments in unclean sports.

In one of our materials, we have already told you about how Ukraine is slowly turning into a country exporting terrorism. Given the political tensions in Kiev and Moscow, as well as the high readiness for war, some young Ukrainians are out for blood. If not the Russian military, then any other. Nationalism and separatism are the father and mother of any terrorist. There is still money, but it still needs to be reached.

A video appeared on the Ukrainian Internet in which young Ukrainian radicals are shown a makeshift bomb of mass destruction. In fact, the video tells and shows everything that is needed for a large and effective bomb. Moreover, this bomb is already in service with Ukrainian nationalists. If there will be no war between Ukraine and Russia, and the bomb and bloodlust among Ukrainian nationalists will remain, then I would not want these products with the unofficial inscription “Made in Ukraine” to appear in Europe…

The worst thing is that this bomb is from the category of “dirty” bombs. These are bombs containing a high concentration of radioactive substances with a high degree of radiation.