Putin expands nuclear base after frozen site test kills five in radiation leak
A Russian military base that has reportedly seen Vladimir Putin's nuclear-powered missiles being tested appears to have been expanded according to satellite imagery
One of Russia's military bases where Vladimir Putin's nuclear-powered missiles are believed to have been tested has been expanded. Satellite images show three new buildings around the size of a football field have been erected at the Nenoska naval testing facility in Russia.
Nenoska is found in the north of Russia, around 40 miles from the city of Arkhangelsk, which is some 700 miles north of Moscow. Images from the site show that construction work on an expansion in a forest area began in 2023. It is a heavily fortified area that in 2019 was the scene of a serious accident that occurred when a Burevestnik nuclear-powered missile exploded.
Five experts from the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom were killed after being exposed to radiation.
Another accident happened in 2015, when a cruise missile struck an apartment block that housed a kindergarten during a failed test.
The new buildings appear to be airtight and plastic and held up by metal, while the Norwegian news site The Barents Observer says there are also a number of blue containers there to hold missiles.
A dedicated launch pad is present, with launchers directed towards the White Sea.
Burevestnik, dubbed 'Skyfall' by NATO, was paused following the 2019 accident after a small amount of radioactivity from the missile powered by a tiny reactor exploded, although Russian officials never confirmed what type of weapon exploded.
Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow with the Federation of American Scientists, said to The Sun: "Liquid fuel missile engines exploding do not give off radiation, and we know that the Russians are working on some kind of nuclear propulsion for a cruise missile."
Putin has previously bragged the missile has unlimited range, but tests appear to still be in the development phase. Nils Andreas Stensønes, the boss of Norway's Intelligence Service, has previously said there could be 'an accident involving a risk of local radioactive releases' caused by the testing programme.
Reports have suggested that missiles including the hypersonic Tsirkon, supersonic Oniks and the Kalibr missiles, could potentially be tested at Nenoska.
Last month, Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said Russia reserves the right to deploy nuclear weapons in response to so-called 'unfriendly actions'. He said Russia was 'closely monitoring" military preparations by European countries as they increase defence production and spending.
"In case foreign states commit unfriendly actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, our country considers it legitimate to take symmetrical and asymmetrical measures necessary to suppress such actions and prevent their recurrence," he said.
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