Beyond Nuclear International Weekly Digest, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Posted: 2nd February 2026

A Polish monk arrested in Belarus and accused of acquiring sensitive nuclear documents, could face the death penalty, reports Nuclear Resister. And the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty is set to expire this week. Why aren’t we talking about this, asks Carol Wolman.

Polish peace monk in peril

Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish Carmelite monk traveling in Belarus, has been arrested and taken to the notorious Amerikanka KGB detention center in Minsk, human rights groups report. Nuclear Resister writes that Gawel is accused of soliciting and receiving documents on behalf of Polish Intelligence, that would reveal details about the presence of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, a charge Polish authorities deny. Efforts are underway to secure Gawel’s release. READ MORE

New START must renew!

The New START treaty, which limits US and Russian nuclear weapons, is set to expire this week. Russian President Putin has offered to renew it. So far, US President Trump has shrugged. But letting it expire could spell our collective doom, warns Carol Wolman, and lead to the unthinkable, an all-out nuclear war and nuclear winter. Despite this, the media is hardly giving it a mention. MORE

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