by ReutersThe Kremlin said on Wednesday that three Russian academics working on hypersonic missile technology face “very serious charges”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of an open letter from Siberian scientists defending the men, but that the matter was a matter for the security services.
In letters published on Monday, colleagues of Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shipluk and Valery Zvyagintsev protested their innocence and said the prosecution had threatened to seriously harm Russian science.
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“We know each of them to be a patriot and a decent person who has not been able to make the investigating officers doubt them,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia is the global leader in hypersonic missiles, capable of traveling at speeds of Mach 10 (12,250 kmph) to evade enemy air attacks. On Tuesday, Ukraine said it had managed to destroy six warheads in a single night, although Russia disputed this.
Records of academic conferences dating back many years show that arrested scientists were often participants.
In 2012, Maslov and Shipyuk presented the results of an experiment at a seminar on hypersonic missile design in Tours, France. In 2016, all three were among the authors of a book chapter titled “ITAM, Hypersonic Short-Duration Facilities for Aerodynamic Research in Russia”.
The open letter from his colleagues at ITAM – the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk – said the materials the scientists presented at international forums were repeatedly checked to ensure they did not contain restricted information. Is.
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The cases showed that “any article or report could lead to a charge of high treason”, the open letter said.
“In this situation, we fear not only for the fate of our colleagues. We do not understand how to continue our work.”
The letter also cited the case of another Siberian scientist, Dmitry Kolker, who was arrested last year on suspicion of state treason and taken to Moscow despite suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer. Laser specialist Kolar died two days later.
It said such cases are having a profound effect on young Russian scientists.
“Even now, the best students refuse to work with us, and our best young employees are leaving science. Many areas of research that are critically important to laying the fundamental groundwork for future aerospace technology, are being closed simply because employees are afraid to engage in this type of research.”
Asked about the letter, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: “We have indeed seen this appeal, but the Russian special services are working on it. They are doing their job. These are very serious allegations.”