 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Two Attempted Break-Ins At Russian Nuke Sites Thwarted: Defence Ministry
Moscow (AFP) Jun 22, 2005 Guards thwarted two attempts to penetrate storage sites for Russia's nuclear arsenal, where the "human factor" remains a weakness in security, the top general responsible for storage of warheads revealed Wednesday. The two incidents in 2002 and 2003 involved lone suspects caught while trying to enter sites "in the European part of Russia," General-Colonel Igor Valynkin told journalists in Moscow, without providing further details. Valynkin said the two had been handed over to the Federal Security Service "and I do not know their further fate." In sharp contrast to alarming reports from some Western nuclear security experts, Valynkin said that he was "100 percent" satisfied with levels of protection of the arsenal. However, Valynkin acknowledged that the "human factor" was a problem in some cases. "If you put a sentry at a site, then of course he is a defender, but also can be a person who himself violates, or aids a violation and possible penetration of the site. "That is why we, with the United States and with our German partners, are using American and German money to strengthen our defences. ... This allows us to remove the sentinel and guard completely through technical means." Valynkin named Chechnya, where tens of thousands of Russian troops are fighting the second war against separatists in a decade, as the most likely source of a plot to attack military nuclear sites. "We have special information from the Federal Security Service about the plans of the terrorists for our sites," he said. As chief of the 12th main directorate of the ministry of defense - which stores and maintains warheads - Valynkin is one of the top officials responsible for calming Western fears of nuclear materials reaching the black market. Earlier this month, former US senator Sam Nunn, who heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said that "the gravest danger in the world today is the threat of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
World Powers Threaten Defiant Iran Over Nuclear Crisis
Vienna (AFP) Jan 11, 2006World powers threatened Iran with UN Security Council sanctions Wednesday after it resumed sensitive nuclear activities as a defiant Tehran vowed to press ahead with its disputed atomic programme. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
