Speaking on August 21 during a visit to Finland, where he met with his counterpart Sauli Niinisto, Putin said that all the services that control radiation are working and that the radiation level is normal, adding that the same applies to neighboring countries.

The white sea Bay, where the shipbuilding port and the regional capital are located, was closed for swimming and fishing due to the presence of toxic rocket fuel.

After the accident, there were reports of panic buying iodine drops in the nearby shipbuilding town of Severodvinsk. To protect the thyroid gland from certain types of radiation, iodine is often taken.

On August 19, Putin said there was “no threat” of contamination following a deadly explosion that occurred in the city of Nyonoksa, a port on the Dvina Bay near Severodvinsk, at a naval facility that has been used for decades to test naval missiles, including Intercontinental ballistic missiles.