Russia says hypersonic missile scientists face ‘very serious’ treason accusations
- The arrest of three academics has spread alarm through Russia’s scientific community
- Putin has boasted of being a global leader in the technology, but Ukraine says it destroyed six of the weapons in one night
Three Russian academics who have worked on hypersonic missile technology face “very serious accusations”, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, in a treason investigation that has spread alarm through Russia’s scientific community.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of an open letter from Siberian scientists in defence of the men, but that the case was a matter for the security services.
In the letter, published on Monday, colleagues of Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvegintsev protested their innocence and said the prosecutions threatened to inflict grave damage on Russian science.
“We know each of them as a patriot and a decent person who is not capable of doing what the investigating authorities suspect them of,” they said.
Shiplyuk’s arrest was reported by Russian state media last August and Maslov’s last July, Business Insider reported, adding that Monday’s letter is the first time Zvegintsev’s arrest has been made public.