Ukrainian Military Specialists Train in Nuclear Forensics in USA
Ten military servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and ten members of the Security Service of Ukraine studied and trained techniques for collecting debris after an explosion for nuclear forensics at the Idaho National Laboratory. The purpose of this training is to advance capabilities in collecting high-quality specimen for analysis. Until recently, Ukraine did not have such an opportunity.
Nuclear forensics, which includes the science of determining the origin of nuclear materials used in an explosion, is an important element of the United States’ deterrence strategy. The ability to trace the source of the material used in a nuclear object allows the United States to reliably prosecute any state involved in an act of nuclear terrorism.
Ukraine has practices nuclear forensics previously, as part of its efforts to combat nuclear smuggling. After russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian officials sought to learn more about how to apply nuclear forensics in a post-explosion scenario.
Experts with many years of experience in training nuclear forensics specialists from INL, Argonne National Laboratory, Kansas City National Security Campus in Albuquerque, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Site (NNSA) provided assistance during the training.
The instructors from the National Laboratories and NNSA who held the training are all members of the US Department of Energy Forensics Operations Team (DFO). They can respond at any moment of the emergency. DFO uses specialized planes and equipment to create mobile command centers and forensic laboratories anywhere in the world. The materials they collect can be transported to the United States for further analysis.
It is important for Ukraine to be able to obtain irrefutable evidence of the origin of nuclear materials. INL and NNSA nuclear forensics experts helped expand these capabilities.
Reference to the Idaho National Laboratory