Bellona nuclear digest. July 2024
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
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Chief Nikitin investigator dismissed
Publish date: November 15, 1997
Written by: Igor Kudrik
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Chief Nikitin investigator dismissed
The head of the FSB team investigating the Nikitin case, Boris Utkin, was dismissed from this position last week. The rest of the investigating team was reshuffled.
On november 12, the head of the FSB investigative team on the Nikitin case, Boris Utkin, was dismissed from this position. Utkin was replaced by a lower-ranking FSB officer, the latter intending to retire shortly. The rest of the Nikitin-team was reshuffled.
Apparently, the reshuffling was prompted by the Prosecutor General’s decision concerning complaint from Nikitin’s defence counsel, concerning missing documents in the FSB case files. These embarrassing documents reveal an illegal FSB attempt to prevent the release of Aleksandr Nikitin from custodial confinement in December last year.
The factual grounds for the reshuffling is unclear. Apparently, nobody in the FSB wants to take responsibility for a "failing case", thus transferring it to an officer who plans to retire soon.
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Bellona urges Norway’s Prime Minister to not support Northern Sea Route development
Transport on the Northern Sea Route is not sustainable, and Kirkenes must not become a potential hub for transport along the Siberian coast. Bellona believes this is an important message Norway should deliver in connection with the Prime Minister's visit to China. In an open letter to Jonas Gahr Støre, Bellona asks the Prime Minister to make it clear that the Chinese must stop shipping traffic through the Northeast Passage.
IAEA issues report on war-ravaged Ukrainian nuclear plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency has published a new report on its efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security during the conflict in Ukraine, with the agency’s director-general warning that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station remains “precarious and very fragile.”
Monthly Highlights from the Russian Arctic, July 2024
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.