Putin vows to continue testing new weapon ‘no matter what’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will continue to develop its new weapon “no matter what”. In August, there was an explosion during the testing of this weapon at the Nyonoksa Test Range near Severodvinsk which killed seven people and emitted radiation.
Putin commented on the catastrophe in the Kremlin on Thursday while conferring the Order of Courage, which was posthumously awarded to the victims, to their relatives.
The Russian president did not say directly what kind of weapon he was referring to, mentioning only that it is “unparalleled in the world” and “intended to safeguard sovereignty and security for Russia for decades to come”. According to Putin, possessing “unique technologies” is “a guarantee of peace on the planet”.
The Russian president had said previously that the explosion at the test range took place during work on a prospective weapon system. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the explosion had been caused by a missile with an isotopic fuel source.
During the investigation of the accident at Nyonoksa, a number of media outlets concluded that the explosion most likely occurred during an attempt to recover a nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile from the bottom of the White Sea. Putin spoke about the development of this missile during his federal assembly address on March 1, 2018.
US officials have also stated that the explosion was probably related to the testing of the Burevestnik, and specifically to an attempt to recover a missile.
The incident occurred on August 8. Seven people were killed – five employees of Rosatom and two members of the Russian Defense Ministry. Several others were injured. At least some of them reportedly sustained radiation damage. An short-term increase in radiation levels was documented in Severodvinsk.