The biggest blow to the Russian Armed Forces and Defence Ministry in the Losharik submarine accident was the failure of the secret mission, its disclosure and thus the attention of the United States, other NATO Allies and probably also the Chinese, commented Kalev Stoicescu, a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Defence and Security on Kuku Raadio.
According to Stoicescu, it is remarkable that as many as half of the 14 fatalities had been ranked as Captains of the Navy, and in turn, two had been awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation. “Consequently, it was a very, very demanding mission, something new and exciting that so many highly qualified military specialists were needed. Most of them had come from the relevant secret institute for sea and ocean research in St. Petersburg,” the researcher noted.
However, according to Stoicescu, Losharik did more than explore the seabed and mapping the depths. “Rather, this submarine is designed to install secret devices on the seabed,” he said. “And to sabotage them, or to destroy communications cables – internet cables, pipelines. This is one of the military tactics in which Russia is definitely thinking.”
Listen to the full interview in Estonian that was aired on 4 July on Kuku Raadio.