The bottom of the Arctic Ocean remains one of the most radioactive regions of the former Soviet Union. There for decades, two flooded atomic submarines have been decomposed-K-27 and K-159, as well as four reactor modules. Their presence threatens a serious environmental catastrophe, which experts call "slow Chernobyl in the sea."
For 17 years, Moscow promised to clear this "underwater grave", but only in 2020 Vladimir Putin prepared a federal decree that would have launched a project of lifting Submarin. This would allow to reduce the amount of radioactive materials in the Arctic Ocean by 90%. However, because of the war in Ukraine and the lack of the necessary technologies, Russia is forced to put this project into a "long box". According to military expert Ruben F. Johnson, two flooded submarines contain more than 1 million Curie radiation. This is about 25% of the radiation that was thrown during the first month of Fukushima accident in 2011. The problem of recycling old atomic submarines for Russia is not new. Ever since the 1990s, after the Cold War, the country could not cope with the mass write-off of old submarine. The disposal of a large part of the fleet was supported by international partners, but after the invasion of Ukraine, these programs stopped.
According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the lifting of submarine from the Arctic bottom will cost more than € 300 million. Earlier, the event was ready to partially finance this project, but because of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the EBRD curtailed the program. The Kremlin is also in no hurry to allocate funds for lifting flooded boats. Russia has already spent hundreds of billions of dollars in war, and environmental safety is clearly not a priority for its leadership. Even if Russia has found the necessary funding, it has no technologies to raise these submarines. After the catastrophe of the Kursk submarine in 2001, its ascent was carried out by a Dutch rescue vessel, not Russian specialists.
Given Russia's international isolation through its war against Ukraine, Western countries are unlikely to offer their assistance in this complex operation. Thus, flooded atomic submarines will continue to pollute the Arctic waters, bringing a new environmental disaster.
