The Kremlin finally admitted that there was a small nuclear disaster in the Arkhangelsk region as a result of the explosion of an experimental intercontinental ballistic missile called Buriewiestnik.
The incident took place on August 8 near the town of Nyonoksa, about 30 kilometers west of the city of Severodvinsk, in the Arkhangelsk region, located about 1500 kilometers from Suwałki. The first almost completed nuclear-powered missile in the history of Russia and the world was tested there. Its attribute is virtually unlimited range.
The Kremlin officially admitted that 5 people were killed in the explosion of the 9M730 Buriewiestnik (SSC-X-9 Skyfall) missile. All these people were employees of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarow and Rosatom. The head of a state corporation said that it was the elite of the national nuclear weapons development program and called on the President of Russia to award them the highest awards for sacrifice for the country.
“The death of these distinguished people is a bitter loss for the entire nuclear center and the Rosatom state corporation. These people were our elite, very often they conducted research in incredibly dangerous conditions, “said Walentin Kostiukow, head of Rosatom. He also added that the preparations for the test lasted over a year, and the victims were “involved in the work of testing the source of radioisotope energy that was part of the rocket.” The preparations went great until August 8. The investigation is to answer the question why it ever happened and whether it could have been avoided.
Vyacheslav Sołoev, head of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarow, revealed at the funeral of his friends that his institute is building a small reactor for the propulsion of an advanced rocket. He also admitted that not only Russia, but also the United States and China are developing such technologies. This is true, but when it comes to the US, NASA has built and presented a fully ready nuclear reactor for the construction of bases on the Moon and Mars. This device has nothing to do with ballistic missile drives capable of carrying nuclear warheads.