A Russian cargo ship that sank off the coast of Spain was likely carrying two nuclear reactors and possibly heading to North Korea.
The Ursa Major suffered a series of unexplained explosions and went under about 60 miles from shore on December 23, 2024.
In recent months, military motion across the sunken ship has increased. US nuclear ‘sniffer’ aircraft have flown by the sunken ship twice, and a suspected Russian spy ship has also visited the wreckage, a source told CNN.
Despite this, it continues to be unclear what caused the ship to sink.
The Spanish government confirmed in February that the ship had been carrying ‘components for 2 nuclear reactors just like those utilized in submarines’, but mystery still shrouds the wreck.
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On the fateful day the ship sank, crew members called for help and said the vessel had suffered three blasts near the engine room, killing two people on board.
When rescuers tried to enter the engine room, they found it was sealed. The remainder of the crew was evacuated safely, and the ship seemed stable and unlikely to sink.
The Ivan Gren – a Russian military ship which had escorted the Ursa Major – then fired off red flares before 4 more explosions took place. The ship was then sunk to the underside of the ocean.
The ship’s captain initially wouldn’t talk about what the vessel was carrying, but eventually confessed that it had two nuclear reactor components.
Just every week after the incident, a Russian military ship previously accused of espionage floated above the Ursa Major wreckage for days before 4 explosions were detected underwater.
The Spanish government still hasn’t physically inspected the ship, a task they are saying ‘isn’t possible’ without ‘significant technical resources’ with the vessel lying 8,202ft below the water’s surface.
Though it’s not believed that the nuclear reactors were shipped with fuel inside them, the suggestion that Russia would send such reactors to North Korea is concerning.
Russia has been cosying as much as North Korea, even using Kim Jong Un’s soldiers as cannon fodder in Ukraine.
For the primary time, this yr’s Victory Day parade in Moscow featured troops from North Korea, a tribute to Pyongyang that sent its soldiers to fight alongside Moscow forces.
North Korea has one in every of the most important militaries on this planet.
Some 1.2million troops serve in its ranks, but they lack combat experience, and their weapons are considered susceptible to defects and inaccuracy.
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