Russia 'accidentally' leaks details of nuke torpedo

Classified military document caught on camera on national television; some speculate ‘mistake’ was deliberate

Parts of what Russian officials claimed to be a classified military document showing designs for a new nuclear submarine weapons system were broadcast by two major television stations in the country, the Russian presidential press secretary said Thursday.

The footage of a slide titled “Ocean Multipurpose System: Status-6” was captured during a defense meeting led by President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Sochi.

“Certain secrets indeed were caught on camera,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday, according to Russian news agency Tass. “That is why later [the footage] was deleted.”

Peskov said that while the Russian government was taking step to ensure that such a mistake would never happen again, he was unaware of any punitive measures being initiated against those responsible for the broadcast, CNN reported.

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“In the future, we will certainly take preventive measures not to let it happen again,” Peskov said.

The slide describes the weapons system as a “self-propelled underwater vehicle,” or a torpedo, with the capability to “assure unacceptable damage” to enemy forces, RT reported. According to the Russian site, the torpedo’s detention “in the area of the enemy coast” would result in “extensive zones of radioactive contamination” that would ensure that the region would not be used for “military, economic, business or other activity” for a “long time.”

In light of the noticeably detailed description of the weapons system on the leaked slide, some internet sites have speculated that footage of the classified document was actually purposely released to the public, and that the broadcast was not, in fact, a mistake after all.

The speculation is also based on Putin’s statements during the security meeting itself in which he criticized NATO’s new missile shield program and said his country would respond to the program with “strike systems capable of penetrating any missile defenses.”