Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberately hindered international rescue efforts after the Kursk submarine sank in 2000 in order to protect his country’s nuclear secrets, Bill Clinton has alleged.
Clinton, who was president at the time of the disaster nearly 25 years ago, made the comments in a two-part Sky History documentary, titled Kursk: 10 Days That Shaped Putin, that is to air on Tuesday.
Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Foreign Ministry for comment by email.
Why It Matters
It marks the first time Clinton has spoken out about the disaster, which claimed the lives of all 118 on board Russia’s Kursk submarine.
What To Know
An explosion rocked the Russian nuclear submarine on August 12, 2000—three months after Putin’s inauguration.
The blast was linked to a hydrogen peroxide leak that reacted with a catalyst, leading to the failure of a Type 65-76A torpedo in the forward torpedo room. A second explosion caused the Kursk to start sinking.
Putin refused international help for five days. He said on August 16 that the Russian navy was doing all it could to rescue the crew, despite officials having knowledge of crew deaths on August 14, according to independent Russian news outlet Meduza. At least 23 submariners were thought to have survived the initial explosions.
At a meeting with bishops from the Russian Orthodox Church on August 20, he said that “[Russia] will do everything in our power until the very last moment to rescue all those who can be rescued. We will fight for every life, and we will hope for the best.”
According to Clinton, Putin pushed back offers of international assistance to prevent access to sensitive information about Russia’s nuclear submarine technology—effectively sacrificing the lives of the crew in doing so.
“Putin knew that if we went down there, there were things we would learn that couldn’t be unlearnt about their technology,” he said in the documentary, The Times of London reported.
It’s unclear if Clinton offered evidence to back up his claims.
He also said he hoped he could “help Russia make a transition to a democracy” after the Cold War, but soon realized “Putin was clearly determined to restore Russia’s greatness.”
The documentary is made by HiddenLight. The production company is partly owned by former first lady Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea.
What People Are Saying
Former President Bill Clinton said in the documentary: “I was all for that, but you just have to decide what you mean when you say you’re a great country. So, I worried about Putin, that we were going to have some manifestation of new toughness.”
“I thought we should keep trying to work things out with him. Now, as it turned out, he had a whole different agenda. I thought he had enormous potential to lead Russia into a more open, interconnected world. And he didn’t.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Clinton at a meeting in New York in September 2000, according to transcripts declassified by the Clinton Digital Library: “We felt impotent during this whole disaster. It now looks as though all the crew died within 60 or 90 seconds.
“We couldnʼt tell the relatives, but there was a hole about two meters wide blown in the hull that flooded the first three sections of the sub. Iʼm not even sure how we can get the bodies out.
“There are a lot of cod in those waters, and there may not be any flesh on the bones. We tried to apply the brakes to all this furor, but some people are strange, and they just kept feeding it. Thatʼs just a fact of life.”
What Happens Next
The Sky History series Kursk: 10 Days That Shaped Putin will air on Tuesday, February 25.
The widow of Lt Dmitry Kolesnikov, Olga, (3rd R), mourns 29 October 2000 during a memorial ceremony for the crew of the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk at the ship’s home port of Severomorsk, about…
The widow of Lt Dmitry Kolesnikov, Olga, (3rd R), mourns 29 October 2000 during a memorial ceremony for the crew of the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk at the ship’s home port of Severomorsk, about 1500 km (940 miles) north of Moscow.
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