After Thursday's explosion at a test facility outside Archangel in Russia, the country shuts down all shipping for a month in the adjacent Dvina Bay.
"This is about rocket technology for nuclear-powered submarines, which is among the most valuable in the Russian military," says Martin Kragh, director of the Foreign Policy Institute's Russia and Eurasia program.
- Everything about this is characterized by high privacy. Closed security areas, people with secret positions. This can be because you want to clean up the area on parts that may have spread, either for privacy or environmental reasons. You may not know what the damage is.
"Big missiles and engines"According to some Russian sources, the explosion should have occurred aboard a ship, Kragh says.
- It can explain why you turn off a sea area. These are large missiles and engines, the explosions can be large and much can be spread.
Kragh does not believe that Russia is keeping harmful radiation levels secret.
- I guess if they lied, it could easily be verified by nearby countries with measuring instruments, such as Finland and Sweden. It would be an extremely risky strategy and I have a hard time seeing what they would gain from it.