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Putin says five killed in mystery blast were testing 'unparalleled' new weapon

The Russian leader says the Nyonoksa explosion was related to secret weapon that will ensure Russian security for decades to come

The five scientists who died in an unexplained nuclear explosion had been testing an unparalleled weapon, says Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The mysterious accident occurred at a naval missile test facility in Nyonoksa in northwestern Russia.

So far Russian sources have remained tight-lipped about the cause of the incident, which US officials believe may have involved work on a new nuclear-powered cruise missile.

Officials in Severodvinsk, a city about 25 miles away from the site, reported radiation readings spiking shortly after the incident. The report was later deleted from the citys official website, increasing speculation about the nature of blast.

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Mr Putin said the un-named weapons will ensure Russias sovereignty 'for decades to come'(Image: Mikhail Metzel/TASS)

Now Putin has announced that the five scientists were were conducting the most complex, responsible and critically important work on what he calls a promising new weapons system.

Were talking about the most advanced and unparalleled technical ideas and solutions, about weapons designed to ensure Russias sovereignty and security for decades to come, the Russian president told the victims relatives at an awards ceremony in the Kremlin.

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Mr Putin awarded Orders of Courage medals to the widows of the men killed in Nyonoksa(Image: Alexei Druzhinin/TASS)

He said the scientists were conducting the most complex, responsible and critically important work".

Putin stressed that the weapons were being developed as a deterrent against US aggression.

He said: The very fact of possessing these unique technologies is the most important reliable guarantee of peace on the planet today.

"And no matter what," he continued "we will certainly improve this weapon."

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According to Russian officials, the accident was the result of a failed test of an "isotope power source for a liquid-fuelled rocket engine".(Image: Alexei Druzhinin/TASS)

He didnt go as far as naming this new secret weapon. Defence analysts have speculated that the Nyonoksa site was a test bed for the Burevestnik nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile, codenamed Skyfall by NATO, which Putin has previously described as having unlimited range.

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The medal presentation was televised across Russia(Image: Alexei Druzhinin/TASS)

Thomas DiNanno, a member of the American delegation to the UN claimed that the deadly explosion occurred during a mission to salvage a downed Burevestnik missile from a previous test.

He said that the "August 8th 'Skyfall' incident was the result of a nuclear reaction that occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile", which "remained on the bed of the White Sea since its failed test early last year.

The five men who died in the explosion were nuclear scientist Vyasheslav Yanovsky, 71, Vyacheslav Lipshev, 40, director of a secret research institute, Evgeny Korotaev, 50, a leading electronics engineer, Alexey Vyushin, 43, who had developed a high-energy photon spectrometer, and Sergey Pichugin, 45, a testing engineer.

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