Russia says its hypersonic missile scientists face “very serious” charges of treason

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Three hypersonic specialists arrested last year Colleagues publish an open letter desperate for their support The Kremlin says the case is important to the security services

(Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Wednesday that three Russian academics who worked on hypersonic missile technology face “very serious charges” in a treason investigation that has alarmed the Russian scientific community.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of an open letter from the Siberian scientists in defense of the men, but that the case belonged to the security services.

In the letter, which was published on Monday, colleagues Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvyagintsev protested their innocence and said prosecutions threatened to do serious damage to Russian science.

“We know each and every one of them as a patriot, a decent person, incapable of doing what the investigating authorities suspect,” they said.

President Vladimir Putin has boasted that Russia is the world leader in hypersonic missiles, capable of traveling at speeds of up to Mach 10 (12,250 km/h) to evade enemy air defences. On Tuesday, Ukraine said it managed to destroy six weapons in one night, though Russia disputed that.

Notices of academic conferences going back many years show that the arrested scholars were frequent participants.

In 2012, Maslov and Shiplyuk presented the results of an experiment on the design of a hypersonic missile at a symposium in Tours, France. In 2016, the three were among the authors of a book chapter titled “High Speed ​​Facilities for Aerodynamic Research at ITAM, Russia.”

The open letter from their colleagues at ITAM – Khristianovich’s Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk – said that materials presented by scientists at international forums were repeatedly checked to ensure that they did not include restricted information.

The cases have shown, the open letter said, that “any article or report can lead to charges of high treason.”

“In this situation, we are not only afraid for the fate of our colleagues. We do not understand how to continue to do our work.”

The letter also cited the case of Dmitry Kolker, another Siberian scientist who was arrested last year on suspicion of state treason and transferred to Moscow despite having advanced pancreatic cancer. Kolker, the laser specialist, died two days later.

She said such cases had a chilling effect on young Russian scientists.

“Even now, our best students refuse to come to work with us, and our best young employees leave science. A number of research areas critical to laying the basic foundation for future aeronautical technology are closed because staff are afraid to engage in such research.”

Asked about the message, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: “We have already seen this plea, but the Russian special services are working on it. They are doing their job. These are very serious accusations.”

Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Kevin Levy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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