Russia arrests three hypersonic missile scientists on charges of 'very serious treason'

Moscow, Russia

Three Russian hypersonic missile scientists have been arrested and are facing some 'very serious accusations' in connection to a treason investigation, reported Reuters citing a Wednesday statement by Kremlin. 

The scientists who are under scrutiny are Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvegintsev. In response to the allegations, a few Siberian scientists stood in support of the detained scientists and issued an open letter on Monday. In defence of the trio, the scientists said that any sort of prosecution against the academics would give a blow to Russia's science community.

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"We know each of them as a patriot and a decent person who is not capable of doing what the investigating authorities suspect them of," the open letter read. 

Acknowledging the open letter by the scientists, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the matter is concerning the security services. Peskov responding on the open letter said, "We have indeed seen this appeal, but Russian special services are working on this. They are doing their job. These are very serious accusations."

This key development comes after Ukraine on Wednesday refuted claims that Russia destroyed a US-made Patriot missile defence system using its hypersonic missile in an air strike on Kyiv. A day earlier on Tuesday, Kyiv said it had destroyed Russia's six hypersonic weapons. However, Moscow has denied any such claims.  

Academic conferences and articles by Russian academics 

Russian academics are also in the spotlight due to the materials they presented at international forums. The arrested scientists had participated in many international conferences over the years. The open letter referring to these conferences said, "any article or report can lead to accusations of high treason." 

"In this situation, we are not only afraid for the fate of our colleagues. We just do not understand how to continue to do our job," it added. 

Two of the arrested Russian academics, namely Anatoly Maslov and Alexander Shiplyuk, attended a seminar in Tours city in France. At the seminar, the duo presented the conclusions of an experiment on hypersonic missile design. 

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Four years later, in 2016, all three co-authored a book that had a chapter entitled "Hypersonic Short-Duration Facilities for Aerodynamic Research at ITAM, Russia".

The open letter from their colleagues at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk claimed that the materials the scientists had presented in international forums had been thoroughly examined to make sure they did not contain restricted information.

The letter also mentioned the instance of Dmitry Kolker, another scientist from Siberia who was detained on treason charges last year despite having advanced pancreatic cancer and flown to Moscow. Two days later, laser expert Kolker passed away.

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The open letter also maintained that such investigations and arrests have a huge impact on young Russian scientists. "Even now, the best students refuse to come to work with us, and our best young employees are leaving science. A number of research areas that are critically important to laying the fundamental groundwork for the aerospace technology of the future are simply closing because employees are afraid to engage in such research."