Scientists Killed in Explosion Were Testing 'Unparalleled' Weapon, Putin Confirms
Months after Russian scientists were killed in a mysterious blast that shockingly set off radiation detectors, the world is finally getting a glance into these researchers’ deadly task.
Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded families of the five victims the Order of Courage in a Thursday ceremony, a release from the Kremlin states.
Although the statement says the scientists were working on a “missile engine,” Putin’s words in the ceremony hint that this isn’t a run-of-the-mill weapon.
“We’re talking about the most advanced and unparalleled technical ideas and solutions,” the Russian leader said, according to The Moscow Times. “About weapons designed to ensure Russia’s sovereignty and security for decades to come.”
These weapons are so game-changing that Putin insists they can bring world peace.
“The very fact of possessing these unique technologies is the most important reliable guarantee of peace on the planet today,” he said.
Coming from the country responsible for the Tsar Bomba, this is worrying.
The Tsar Bomba is a Soviet-era nuclear weapon considered to be the most powerful bomb ever produced. A single one dropped on Washington, D.C., would level much of the city and cause third-degree burns as far away as Baltimore.
Putin and Russian defense officials have been very secretive about the August accident, hinting that it could be linked to an advanced piece of hardware that is still under development.
Some have speculated the explosion was the result of a failed test of the SSC-X-9 Skyfall missile.
This weapon boasts a thermonuclear payload and has virtually unlimited range.
The advanced missile would be “invincible to all the existing and advanced air and missile defense systems,” CNN reported the Russian defense ministry as saying.
For the United States and its allies in Europe, this is nothing but bad news.
It’s obvious that Putin has designs for Russian control of Eastern Europe, a return to the Soviet-era order of things under the Warsaw Pact. A missile that renders defense systems useless could help the country accomplish these goals.
Russia already is chipping away at Ukrainian sovereignty, first by annexing Crimea and then by means of a protracted war in the Donbas region.
Although the United States has placed tanks and troops in an attempt to counter Russian aggression in parts of Europe, there’s no telling how far Putin is willing to go to place these locations back under Russian influence.
In the face of these revelations of Russia’s new weapon, the United States should only double down with our European allies.
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