In
a fire at the deep-water apparatus of the Ministry of Defense, 14
submariners were killed. What is known about the incident and the
first versions of what happened
Shoigu’s
Assessment: Secret Weapon Nuclear Sub to Be Repaired and Relaunched
Soon
In
the headquarters of the Northern Fleet, a commission is investigating
the causes of the incident. The Defense Minister held a closed
meeting in the headquarters with the military and the designers of
the submarine. Right afterward, he reported to the President.
A
high-ranking military official is said to have made the comment at a
funeral for the crew in St Petersburgh days after the accident in
the Barents
Sea earlier
this week.
The
incident remains shrouded in mystery after the Russian government
refused to reveal the submarine’s name and its mission, claiming
them as state secrets.
However,
the Kremlin has said the incident was sparked by a fire in the
battery compartment of the submarine.
Defense
minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier this week that the onboard
nuclear reactor was “operational” after the crew took “necessary
measures” to protect it.
His
deputy Andrei Kartapolov also claimed the “hero” submariners
sealed a hatch to contain the blaze.
The
Kremlin has not revealed what exactly occurred, or whether a major
incident was averted by the servicemen's actions.
Paying
tribute to the crew at the memorial, the unnamed military official
said the submariners had prevented a much bigger tragedy, Russian
news outlet Open
Media reported.
“Today
we are seeing off the crew of a research deep water apparatus, who
died while performing a combat mission in the cold waters of the
Barents Sea. Fourteen dead, 14 lives,” he is quoted as saying. “At
the cost of their lives, they saved the lives of their comrades,
saved the ship, did not allow a planetary catastrophe.”
The
Independent was
unable to verify the comments, which did not elaborate on the cause
of the accident or how disaster was averted.
Severeal
sources have identified the vessel as the A-31, or the Losharik
submersible; a nuclear-powered unarmed vessel capable of deep sea
missions.
Its
exact design is shrouded in secrecy, but it is believed to be an
experimental 70m-long craft operating in conjunction with a larger
mothership submarine. Developed over 15 years beginning in 1988, it
is described as the Russian military’s most advanced deep water
vessel.
Some
descriptions suggest that it is associated with maritime special
forces missions, including spying on ocean-bed cables. It is thought
to be capable of diving to depths of up to 6,000m.
Local
news agency Severpost reported
that the smaller submarine was likely tethered to the larger
Podmoskovye atomic submarine when it emerged from the Barents Sea at
the mouth of the Kola Bay.
Citing
an unnamed fisherman, the publication claimed the submarine was
travelling quickly back towards base, but without obvious signs of
distress.
What
remains unclear is how many of the servicemen survived the initial
incident, and how many died on the way to hospital.
Reports
that five crew members were receiving treatment in a military
hospital in Severomorsk were confirmed by Mr Shoigu.
The
ministry of defence later named the 14 dead. Calling them "Heroes
of Russia", it said they were called. Denis Dolonsky and Nikolai
Filin; first-rank captains Vladimir Abankin, Denis Oparin, Andrei
Voskresensky, Konstantin Somov and Konstantin Ivanov; second-rank
captains Alexander Avdonin, Alexander Vasilyev, Sergei Danilchenko
and Dmitry Solovyev; third-rank captains Viktor Kuzmin and Vladimir
Sukhinichev; and captain lieutenant Mikhail Dubkov.
They
were buried in Serafimov cemetery nearby a monument to the 118
Russian killed when the Kursk nuclear submarine sank in 2000, the
year Vladimir
Putin became
president.
Yesterday there were reports of a fire aboard either a Russian nuclear submarine or submersible that I am learning that some non-official military sources are putting down to an electrical short-circuit.
Then both DEBKA FILES (an Israeli intelligence site that is thought to be connected to Mossad) published claims that have not been withdrawn of a second incident close to Alaska.
Now, the folks at TruNews have picked up a CNN tweet (that was later quietly removed without any clarification) reporting that the US navy struck a Russian nuclear submarine in the Arabian Gulf, mistaking it for an Iranian submarine.
One might say that this was just "fact-checking". I would say that the order came from "on high" to kill the story. I shall post the discussion from the TruNews folks in due course.
First
reports reaching DEBKAfile’s military sources say that a US
submarine intercepted a Russian nuclear sub in American waters
opposite Alaska. The Russian sub escorting the nuclear submarine
responded with a Balkan 2000 torpedo and scuttled the US vessel.
Urgent consultations in both the White House and the Kremlin were
taking place on Tuesday night. US Vice President Mike Pence called
off an appearance in New Hampshire after being recalled to
Washington for a conference called by President Donald Trump without
explanation.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin cancelled an engagement and headed for the
Kremlin to confer with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and military
chiefs, after learning that 14 submariners died in a fire that broke
out on a nuclear-powered “experimental submarine in Russian
waters.” This account carried in Russian media varies in most
respects from the first reports reaching this site and may refer to a
separate incident. They report between 14 and 17 members of an AS-12
nuclear powered submarine died of poisonous fumes caused by a fire
aboard the vessel. The submarine was described as experimental and
unarmed but often used in spy missions. It is unclear how many of the
25 crew survived. Local media suggest four or five are receiving
treatment in Severomorsk’s military hospital for poisoning and
concussion injuries. Another news account said the majority of the
officers died in or on their way to hospital. These reports do not
cite the cause of the fire.
An
American submarine operating off the coast of Alaska was REPORTEDLY
torpedoed and SUNK during a firefight with a Russian submarine, after
the American sub allegedly intercepted the Russian sub in American
waters.
The
Russian submarine allegedly sustained heavy damage in the fight, with
upwards of 14 crew killed, but it made it back to its base in Russia.
I
have calls into the Pentagon and to my Intel Sources seeking to
confirm (or deny) this information.
No
word on US casualties.
Emergency
meetings have been taking place at the White House this afternoon,
with Vice President Pence being called back to the White House and
having to cancel his scheduled trip to New Hampshire.
As
Pence was being called back, word broke in Russian media that Russian
President Vladimir Putin cancelled a public event he had long
scheduled, and diverted immediately for a meeting with his Defense
Minister.
At
that meeting, both Putin and the Defense Minister SUMMONED the
General Secretary of the Russian Armed Forces to the meeting.
While
that was taking place, the European Union headquarters in Brussels
Belgium called an Emergency meeting of the EU National Security
Council and, separately, the British Government called a COBRA
meeting for its government.
This
is a developing story. Check back for updates.
UPDATE
5:45 PM EDT --
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s defense chief to
travel to a northern naval base to conduct a probe after a fire on a
deep-sea research submersible killed 14 crew members.
(Hal
Turner Remark: A fire huh? Hmmmmm. Caused by what? A firefight
with a US Submarine, perhaps?)
Putin
on July 2 called the incident a “terrific loss” and told Defense
Minister Sergei Shoigu to “personally hear reports” and direct
the Investigative Committee to “definitely establish the causes
behind this tragedy."
Putin’s
meeting with Shoigu came after the Defense Ministry said earlier in
the day that 14 sailors were killed when a fire broke out on July 1
aboard a submersible carrying out research work in Russian
territorial waters.
(Hal
Turner Remark: "In Russian territorial waters???" Why
the need to say THAT? Something's fishy already with the public
statements from Russia. And US/EU/UK governments do not have
"emergency meetings" over a "fire" inside a
Russian submarine. Nope. I don't buy this one bit. This sounds
like a cover story to me. Still digging via my intel contacts.)
RECAP
--
Here
is how events unfolded earlier today, leading up to this story:
Click HERE (More updates to follow, below)
UPDATE
7:00 PM EDT --
Despite
my inquiries to the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Carla Gleason has failed to
respond for several hours. No confirmation. No Denial.
UPDATE
7:36 PM EDT --
I
will give this Intel to you exactly how I just got it. Make of
it what you will:
"An
unnatural mobilization at US and Western military bases in the
Persian Gulf and in the Gulf states"
UPDATE
7:45 PM EDT --
Gold
Bullion spiked up by $40 per ounce in the final hours of trading
today. The money people are running to Gold for safety.
You may well want to watch this compilation
There
is something very serious going on and these two discussion speculate
what is going on and it may have something to do with the Russians
practising cutting off the internet cord before it is done to them.
Whatever
the truth (and this is speculation) there is a lot more than meets
the eye.
TruNews
Pence
Suspense: Why Was Vice President Recalled to Washington?
The
following is a combination of factual reports from various sources.
The
mainstream media sources (and that includes RT and Sputnik) are very
little help.
It
will take some time to work out exactly what's up
Something
BIG is up!!
I woke this morning to news of a fire on a Russian submersible and a whole lot of news followed from that. So far no one is talking about this but there have been bits and pieces of news. This is a video alert from Israeli News Live, which I find quite realiable:
This Moscow-based journalist is making fun of the reaction on Twitter.
But there is so much more happening. Here are the reports I have managed to string together
Putin has cancelled all plans for the day and he is meeting with defence minister Shoigu
The lack of information coming out of Russia scares me. If it was JUST a matter of a fire on a Russian submersible I doubt there would be such urgency.
Meanwhile, VP Pence abruptly cancelled his plans to return to Washington urgently
Posts
