In August 2000, Russia experienced one of its most tragic naval disasters.
The Kursk submarine, a symbol of the country’s military power, sank during a naval exercise.
All 118 sailors on board lost their lives. For years, questions remained about whether more could have been done to save them.
Now, former U.S. President Bill Clinton has made new claims about the incident. He believes Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberately blocked international rescue efforts to protect Russia’s nuclear secrets, reports Digi24.
The disaster began when an explosion occurred inside the Kursk. The crew had been loading a training torpedo when a technical malfunction caused it to detonate.
A second, much larger explosion followed, sending the submarine to the ocean floor. Some sailors survived the initial blasts, but they were trapped.
Experts believe at least 23 of them stayed alive for several hours before running out of oxygen.
Putin refused international assistance for five days. On August 16, four days after the explosions, he insisted the Russian navy was doing everything possible to save the crew.
However, officials had already known by August 14 that the sailors were dead. Clinton, who was U.S. president at the time, now says Putin’s refusal was intentional.
According to him, Putin did not want foreign rescue teams to access Russia’s nuclear submarine technology.
"Putin knew that if we went down there, we would learn things that could not be unlearned," Clinton said in a new documentary, Kursk: 10 Days That Shaped Putin.
He believes Putin made the choice to sacrifice the lives of the sailors rather than risk exposing Russia’s military secrets.
Clinton had initially hoped to help Russia transition to democracy after the Cold War. However, he soon realized that Putin had a different vision. "He was determined to restore Russia’s greatness," Clinton said.
Putin later met with Clinton in September 2000. He reportedly admitted that Russia felt helpless during the disaster.
He claimed the explosion had created a massive hole in the submarine, making survival impossible.
He also made controversial remarks about how the media had reacted to the event. "We tried to stop all this frenzy, but some people keep fueling it," Putin reportedly said.
The Kursk tragedy left deep scars in Russia. Families of the victims are still searching for answers.
Clinton’s statements add a new perspective to an event that shaped Putin’s early presidency.
