Satellite images show construction has intensified at a facility linked to Israel’s suspected nuclear weapons program, AP News said this week.
The images could imply that Israel is “quietly expanding its nuclear arsenal,” the article alleged, adding Israel could face international criticism for growing a secret nuclear program while bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Israel has already faced criticism, including in June from former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for being “hypocritical” by bringing “the world into a regime change over secret nuclear weapons when you have secret nuclear weapons.”
This week marks three years that the International Atomic Energy Agency has had a presence at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the agency announced on its website.
“On 1 September 2022, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi led IAEA experts across the front line to deploy at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant,” the agency said. “Three years on, he highlights the Agency’s continued role in upholding nuclear safety and security and expresses gratitude to all who support this vital mission.”
The U.N. nuclear watchdog stationed at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Now, tensions still remain between both Russia and Ukraine with Russia trying to restart the plant and connect it to its power grid. Ukraine claims ownership of the plant.
Laura Cooper, the former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, announced on her LinkedIn profile that she logged her last day in federal service this summer.
“After 25 years, my last day of federal service was June 28,” Cooper said last week in her post to LinkedIn. “It’s still a lot for me to process, but I’m gradually finding my voice as a private citizen.” Cooper does not list the terms on which she left office.
Recently, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been negotiating over the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At a meeting in Alaska last month, Putin said he reached “understandings” with Trump over potentially ending the conflict.
