US Embassy employees removed from train in Russia: what is known

Three American diplomats were removed from the Nenoksa-Severodvinsk train (Arkhangelsk region), suspected of violating the rules for the stay of foreigners in the Russian Federation.

Фото: Depositphotos

“The incident occurred on October 14,” said TASS source in law enforcement.

They are suspected of an administrative crime under paragraph 1.1 of Art. 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (“Violation by a foreign citizen or stateless person of the rules of entry into the Russian Federation or the regime of stay (residence) in the Russian Federation”).

Severodvinsk is a city with regulated visits for foreign citizens.

Governor of the Arkhangelsk region Igor Orlov told TASS that he has no information on this issue. “I am not dealing with this issue, it is beyond the competence of the governor...” he said.

Additional incident information published Ведомости. According to the publication, the detained diplomats are the naval attaché at the US Embassy William Whitsitt Curtis, the attaché at the US Embassy Jerry Arriola Anthony, and the American military attaché D.S. Dunn. Their detention in Severodvinsk was reported by REN TV and Interfax, citing an informed source.

The incident occurred on October 14 around 18.00. Diplomats were taken off the train. The reason for the detention is entry into the restricted area. The channel explains that Severodvinsk is included in the list of territories with regulated visits for foreigners. The detainees, according to the channel, did not provide the necessary documents for staying in the city. After checking the documents, they were released.

On the subject: Russian Foreign Ministry called tests near Severodvinsk Russia's response to US actions

Rebecca Ross, spokeswoman for the US diplomatic mission in Russia, told Interfax that the American diplomats were on an official trip and notified the Russian Ministry of Defense about it. According to her, they filled out all the necessary documents.

There is no official confirmation of this information from the Russian side yet. The press service of the administration of Severodvinsk told Interfax that the city authorities did not know about the detention of the Americans, such information was received only by the regional FSB department.

Nenoksa - a village in 40 km from Severodvinsk. Near the village is the state central marine test site of the Russian Navy, where in August there was an explosion during the tests on the offshore platform of a rocket with a radioisotope power source. As a result, five Rosatom employees were killed. The Ministry of Defense also reported the deaths of two people. Whether they are among the dead employees of Rosatom was not specified. After the explosion, a short-term excess of the radiation level was recorded at the Severodvinsk training ground, but he soon returned to normal.

A similar incident occurred in the spring of 2008. Then, two employees of the US military attaché were detained while trying to get to the military aircraft factory in Novosibirsk. Representative of the Novosibirsk Aviation Association (NAPO) them. Chkalova clarified that the guards of the enterprise referred them to the competent authorities for trial. Later, diplomats were expelled from Russia, The New York Times reported.

A Vedomosti source in special services explained that security officials attribute such cases to "ram espionage" when a spy tries to divert counterintelligence forces to help colleagues get into a closed facility in a different way.

The explosion near Severodvinsk

Severodvinsk is a city with regulated visits for foreign citizens. On August 8, an explosion occurred at a test site in the village of Nenoksa, 40 km from Severodvinsk, which resulted in casualties and a temporary increase in background radiation, writes Air force.

The Rosatom state corporation reported that the explosion occurred during tests on an offshore platform of a rocket with a radioisotope power source. Seven people were killed - five Rosatom employees and two representatives of the Ministry of Defense.

Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the accident occurred during work on promising weapons systems.

The authorities of Severodvinsk on 8 in August reported that on the day of the emergency, the background radiation for a short time increased. This was later confirmed by Roshydromet. Specialists reported that there is no threat to the population. The doctors who brought the injured were not told that patients are a source of radiation, the BBC wrote.

In Russia, a few days after the explosion near Severodvinsk, the transmission of data from radiation monitoring stations was suspended. First, stations in Dubna and Kirov ceased operation, later in Chukotka and Altai. When asked about the reasons for the silence of the stations, Russian officials answered that they were experiencing problems with the network and communications.

On August 13, US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that, according to his information, the explosion is related to the 9M730 Burevestnik missile, which is called Skyfall in the US.

“The United States has learned a lot from the missile explosion in Russia. We have similar, but more modern technologies. The Russian Skyfall explosion has people worried about the air near the site and far beyond. Not good!" - Trump wrote.

A few hours before Trump's statement, sources in the New York Times reported that US intelligence tends to believe that the explosion near Severodvinsk occurred during the test of this rocket. Russian authorities disclose information about weapons tested at the central naval test site of the Russian Navy near Nenoks.

In early September, environmentalist Alexei Klimov and journalist Nikolai Karneevich said they had discovered radioactive waste with radiation on the White Sea coast near Severodvinsk, which they claimed was four to eight times safe. They drew attention to the fact that the area with radioactive details was not guarded. The authorities then said they would deal with this situation.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Russian Ministry of Defense 8 Aug. Tested Liquid Jet Engine, culminating in the explosion and death of several military and civilian specialists of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center. According to a note from the Institute for Problems of the Safe Development of Nuclear Energy, the sensors of the Automated System for Monitoring the Radiation Situation in Severodvinsk recorded an increase in radiation background lasting about 20 minutes.
• White House National Security Advisor John Bolton accused Russia of stealing technology of hypersonic weapons. A statement was made when Bolton commented on the incident. The head of the White House, Donald Trump, said that the United States “learned a lot” from the explosion at a military training ground in Russia.
• After the explosion in Russia disconnected 4 radiation monitoring stations, and thousands of gas masks are bought for the population. Two more Russian radiation monitoring stations - one in Chukotka and the second in Altai - stopped transmitting data a few days after the explosion in a nuclear center near Severodvinsk. Earlier it was reported about the suspension of data transmission at stations in Dubna and Kirov.
• The press service of the administration of Severodvinsk reported a short-term increase in radiation background. But the doctors who brought the victims were not told that patients are a source of radiation. According to the frightened doctors, radiation doses were “just huge”what no one warned about. The Kremlin categorically denies this information, like danger.

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