Russia has started a case of treason against three of its scientists working on hypersonic missile technology. All three have been accused of giving China secret information about missile technology. All three worked at an institute in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.
The first scientist, Anatoly, was brought to Russia’s St. Petersburg for a Thursday hearing. His custody has been extended till 10 November. The details of the trial will not be made public. The media has also been kept away from it. At the same time, the lawyers of the scientists have also refused to say anything. All three were arrested in June last year. Since then, 76-year-old Anatoly has had two heart attacks. His health continues to deteriorate.
Scientists Were Working On Next-Generation Missiles
Russia’s President’s Office Kremlin has stated that the allegations against the three scientists (Anatoly, Alexander and Valery) are severe. According to reports, the three scientists have been accused of selling the secrets of missiles at a conference held in China in 2017. The St. Petersburg court has declared this trial as top secret. Maslov was a professor and researcher at Russia’s Top Science Institute. All three scientists are hypersonic missile experts.
They were working on Russia’s following generation missiles. These missiles can fly 10 times faster than the speed of sound. All three scientists have denied the allegations against them. Russia’s parliament voted in April to increase the sentence for treason from 20 years to life in prison, two months before the scientists’ trial began.
Ukraine Is Destroying Russian Missiles One After The Other
Scientists in Russia are on trial when Ukraine claims to destroy Russian missiles one after the other. This week Ukraine said that they had stacked 6 hypersonic missiles of Russia in one night. Among them is the Kinjal missile of Russia. According to reports, ‘Kinjal’ travels 5 times faster than the speed of sound. Its range is 1200 miles.
In fact, till now, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been claiming he is the world leader in making hypersonic missiles. In such a situation, the continuous failure of missiles raises a big question about his claim.
Russian Institute Issues Statement In Support Of Scientists
Other Russian scientists have criticized the trial being run on their colleagues. He issued an open letter on 15 May in support of his comrades. In this, instructions were given to those three scientists. He had said that all three scientists had served Russia through science. If he aimed to earn money, he had offers from other countries for a long time; he could have readily accepted them and left Russia.
