Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied a nuclear threat after a recent rocket attack in northern Russia, a suspected nuclear accident.
This came during a press conference held by Putin with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, at the summer residence of the French President, at the Fortress of Briggson in the Riviera on the Mediterranean.
"There is no threat and no high radiation levels have been measured," Putin said, stressing that the situation at the scene near the city of Arkhangelsk was under control.
Putin said independent military experts and specialists were on the ground and notified him, adding that security measures had been taken despite the experts´ words to "avoid any surprises." He said he would honor all the victims with medals.
The blast occurred in early August in the military port of Severodvinsk on the White Sea, killing seven people.
Local authorities and environmentalists confirmed a short period of high radioactivity.
According to the Russian Meteorological Agency, radioactivity in the city of Sverodvinsk has exceeded 16 times the usual level.
For their part, US experts predicted that Russia was working in the port on a new nuclear-powered missile.
There is concern in the region and abroad that the Russian authorities, as they have in the past, have not announced the true size of the radiation and it is not yet known what kind of radioactive material leaked from the explosion.
