(((James Acton))) (@james

(((James Acton)))

11.5K posts

(((James Acton)))

@james_acton32

Co-director, @carnegienpp and senior fellow, @CarnegieEndow; nuclear policy, national security & politics; occasional agonizing about @Nationals; RT≠E etc.

Washington, DC

carnegieendowment.org/experts/?fa=434

Joined March 2012

Pinned
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Jun 19, 2025
In the @nytimes today, I argue that the United States should judge military action against Iran by the same standards against which the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action--aka the Iran Nuclear Deal--was assessed. GIFT LINK at end of thread. (1/7)
75K
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Short thread on the dangers of the fire at Zaporizhzhya NPP. As of 8am this morning, according to Ukraine's regulator, three of six reactors were connected to the grid; the other three were offline. However, ALL the units will need cooling if they have any fuel inside. (1/n)
Jack Detsch
@JackDetsch
Mar 4, 2022
NEW: Russian attacks have set off a fire at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, according to a Telegram post by the mayor of a nearby town.
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Jul 24, 2019
If only @maggieNYT and @adamgoldmanNYT had some role in shaping tomorrow's news cycle.
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
Russia must stop all operations in the vicinity of the plant (say within 50 km) immediately and allow Ukrainian operators and emergency services to deal with the situation. No ifs no buts. (7/n)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Nov 30, 2018
This quote is even worse than it looks. Of course Ryan knows the rules for postal voting in CA and understands nothing is amiss. What he’s doing is deliberately undermining public confidence in elections that his side lost.
The Hill
@thehill
Nov 30, 2018
Paul Ryan: "California just defies logic to me... We were only down 26 seats the night of the election & 3 weeks later, we lost basically every contested CA race. This election system they have - I can’t begin to understand what ‘ballot harvesting’ is." hill.cm/x25jGqF
00:00
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
Without cooling, there will be a meltdown--precisely what happened at Fukushima in 2011. The meltdown there was accompanied by explosions in three units (IIRC) caused by hydrogen (produced by water being split as the fuel cladding burnt). (5/n)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Feb 27, 2022
<THREAD>What does raising the alert level of Russian nuclear forces entail? Russian nuclear forces can be divided into strategic (which can reach the US) and nonstrategic (which can't.) I'm looking to see whether strategic forces, nonstrategic forces, or both are alerted. (1/n)
max seddon
@maxseddon
Feb 27, 2022
Putin is meeting defense minister Shoigu and chief of general staff Gerasimov in the Kremlin. He says western sanctions are "illegitimate" and has ordered to place Russia's deterrence – i.e. nuclear – forces on "a special regime of duty," per @tass_agency
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
As they have been every night for the last week, my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people--particularly the brave operators and fire fighters managing this fire--at they face this illegal and horrific onslaught from Russia. (10/10)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Oct 12, 2022
<THREAD>Sorry, but nuclear deterrence is a two-way street. Just as NATO’s nuclear weapons deter Russia, so Russia’s deter us. This isn’t fair or just. But it's the reality of life under the shadow of the Bomb. Ignoring the risk of escalation is a recipe for catastrophe. (1/17)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
I assume that the three operational reactors have now been scrammed (switched off). In this case, all six reactors will be reliant on external power for cooling. (2/n)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
Here's the websites for the Ukrainian regulator and the plant itself. As of now, radiation levels look normal to me, though I know know how often this data is updated. (8/n) snriu.gov.ua/en/timeline?&t… npp.zp.ua/en/activities/…
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
I'll speculate that the plant was probably not deliberate targeted and it was essentially collateral damage. The Russian campaign has been brutal and sloppy. But, right now, it doesn't matter much, frankly. (6/n)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
A fire could damage the connection to the national power grid (if it was still intact after the shelling). It could also threaten backup power supplies (including emergency diesel generators and diesel supplies). (3/n)
(((James Acton)))
@james_acton32
Mar 4, 2022
Replying to @james_acton32
I'm sure this fire will be a priority for fire services. But I can only imagine what else they have to deal with right now and fire crews are at obvious risk in traveling to the plant. (4/n)