Evgenia Sokolenko09:12, 23.12.23

Together with him, two businessmen were detained, who are accused of fraud.

Oleg Frolov, the deputy general director of the Roscosmos state corporation, was arrested for embezzling funds for the purchase of equipment for the Sarmat missile program .

As The Moscow Times reports with reference to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, two businessmen were also detained. All three figures are accused of fraud on a particularly large scale.

“According to the investigation, Frolov, using his official position, entered into a criminal conspiracy with two other accomplices of the crime. During the execution of the contract, they stole budget funds during the purchase of equipment in the amount of at least 435 million rubles,” the report says.

Frolov was responsible for the Roscosmos state weapons program, which involved the development and production of Russia’s newest weapons – missiles, cruise missiles and drones. In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this weapon as a “response to the actions of the United States.”

One of the samples of this weapon is the intercontinental ballistic missile “Sarmat”, which is to replace the “Voivode” missiles.

Sarmat rocket 

As UNIAN wrote, the Sarmat strategic missile complex was officially put on combat duty in Russia  . This statement was made by the head of the State Corporation for Space Activities “Roscosmos” Yuriy Borisov.

According to military and political commentator Oleksandr Kovalenko,  the Sarmat missile made only one test flight  on April 20, 2022 and is unlikely to make further ones in the near future.

(C)UNIAN 2023