Russia detains three hypersonic rocket scientists on treason charges despite outcry
- Dr Valery Zvegintsev, 78, is the latest of three prominent scientists to be arrested
- All three face treason charges despite outcry from their scientific colleagues
- It comes as Ukraine claimed it shot down several Russian hypersonic missiles
A trio of Vladimir Putin‘s leading hypersonic scientists have been detained on suspicion of high treason in what fellow scientists have declared a ‘witch hunt’
Aerodynamics specialist Dr Valery Zvegintsev, 78, is the latest of three prominent scientists from the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk to be arrested on extremely serious charges.
Zvegintsev, 78, along with Anatoly Maslov and Alexander Shiplyuk, are seen as key figures in the development of Russia’s hypersonic weapons programme which is thought to be one of the world’s most advanced.
News of their detention on suspicion of high treason comes days after a Russian missile assault on Ukraine’s capital was largely ineffective, with Ukrainian officials claiming their US-supplied Patriot air defence system managed to down several of Moscow’s Kinzhal – or ‘Dagger’ – hypersonic missiles, which Putin once boasted were ‘unstoppable’.
And their institute has protested the arrests, claiming the men were being prosecuted over normal scientific activity such as making presentations and taking part in international conferences and projects, and publishing articles in major journals.
