“Experienced criminal investigators of the Main Military Investigation Committee flew in from Moscow to provide practical assistance to the investigation team on the site. Fifty witnesses have been questioned. Investigators are studying the documentation seized at the dockyard.”-Vladimir Markin, Investigation Committee

The Russian government said the fire aboard the Yekaterinburg Delta class submarine is no cause for concern regarding nuclear radiation.  The reactors had been shut down, and the nuclear missiles removed before the sub went into dry dock in the Murmansk Region.

However, there is now an investigation, for possible sabotage because of the way the fire ignited the outer rubberized hull.  Workers claimed a scaffolding caught fire, and that set the hull on fire.  The fire was so damaging that officials are deciding if it’s worth it to repair the sub.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez said the United States is acting behind the scenes to destabilize Vladimir Putin:  “The United States is trying to undermine his leadership, split Russia and destabilize its government and realize its imperialist project to create world hegemony.”

Chavez said this is how U.S. leaders operate because they do not support true democracy: “What is happening in Russia, they will try here, because these people know they cannot win the elections, either politically or mathematically.”