Following the downing of six of the ‘undefeatable’ hypersonic missiles that the Russian president claimed were in Ukraine, three of Vladimir Putin’s top hypersonic scientists have been detained on high treason charges.
The prominent scientists Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk, and Valery Zvegintsev are all accused of facing “very serious allegations,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The three researchers have all been involved in the development of the weapons for many years, and they contributed to a book chapter titled “Hypersonic Short-Duration Facilities for Aerodynamic Research at ITAM, Russia.”
When Putin presented his “Kinzhal” rockets in 2018, he hailed them as “undefeatable” by any current or future defense systems. Putin has long boasted that Russia is the world leader in hypersonic missiles.
But on May 16, when Ukraine claimed to have destroyed six of them in a single night, he experienced further disappointment.
The Russian leadership is uneasy as a result of the downing of all missiles because they think the experts lied to them.
The arrests have alarmed the scientific community in Russia.
Three of the men’s coworkers released an open letter in which they said they were innocent and cautioned that the indictments constituted a severe threat to Russian research.
We are aware of each of them as patriots and good people who are incapable of doing the crimes that the investigating authorities believe they are capable of.‘
We are concerned about more than just the welfare of our coworkers in this situation. Simply put, we don’t know how to carry on with our work.
The instance of Dmitry Kolker, a scientist from Siberia who was detained last year on suspicion of state treason and sent to Moscow despite having advanced pancreatic cancer, was mentioned in the letter.
Two days later, the laser expert passed away. According to the report, young Russian scientists were being negatively impacted by these occurrences since they were less likely to desire to work for their country and would rather travel.
The letter said that “even now, the best students refuse to come to work with us, and our best young employees are leaving science.”
“A number of research areas that are crucial to laying the fundamental foundation for the aerospace technology of the future are simply closing because employees are reluctant to participate in such research,” says the report.
Upon being questioned about the letter, Peskov responded, “We have seen this plea, but Russian secret services are working on this. Their work is being done. These allegations are really serious.
Early in the invasion, Russia started employing the Kinzhal, which meaning “dagger,” to attack targets in Ukraine.
However, it has only sparingly and against important targets employed the costly weapon.
The air-launched ballistic missile known as the Kinzhal may carry either nuclear or conventional warheads. Six of them, according to Ukraine, were shot on Tuesday.
- Its reported range, with a 480 kg payload, is 1,500 to 2,000 km (930 to 1,240 miles). It is capable of traveling at up to Mach 10 (12,250 kph).
