Barents Sea, Russia
Russia’s defense minister blamed the sinking of a nuclear submarine this week on the “Russian national trait of carelessness.” The submarine sank in a storm in the Barents Sea as it was being towed to an Arctic scrap yard for removal of its decommissioned nuclear reactors. Nine of the 10 sailors on board drowned. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the disaster was a result of the navy’s “frivolous, Russian reliance on chance,” and he ordered a temporary halt to the transfer of decommissioned subs while procedures were reviewed. Russia has more than 100 derelict submarines that are waiting to be scuttled, many of them rusting away and leaking radiation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed opportunity in its own backyard
-
Where the new Pope Leo XIV stands on various issuesThe Explainer The first American pontiff is expected to continue some of his predecessor's work
-
What's wrong with America's air traffic control systems?Today's Big Question The radios and radar keep going out at Newark International
