HOT SUMMER OF 1967: THE ISRAELI ATTACK ON AMERICA AND THE 'SOVIET DESTROYER.'

Two months ago, PRAVDA.Ru published an interview with John Hrankowski, a survivor and crew member of the USS Liberty, who had been on board the American vessel on the tragic morning of June 8, 1967 when the Liberty was attacked by the Israeli air force.

Mr.Hrankowski mentioned a really interesting and important fact just in passing: “American ships arrived only in 16 hours after the attack. A Soviet ship offered help to us on that night. They said that they would stay just at the horizon and, if our ship began to sink, they would help us.”

This fact has drawn our special attention. Former officer of the US Navy and film producer Richard Thompson recently helped produce a film about the tragic June 8 event. Mr. Thompson recommended us to talk to Russian submariner Captain Nikolay Charkashin, who has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the Liberty tragedy during the past several years. What is more, a book by Nikolay Cherkashin, “Mysteries of Lost Warships,” was recently published. This is the result of his independent investigations of Russian submarines from Empress Maria to the Kursk.

A PRAVDA.Ru journalist met with Nikolay Cherkashin, and we offer the following interview to our readers. It was rather unexpected to hear Nikolay Cherkashin say that no Russian ship was close to the USS Liberty that night.

- What happened to the Liberty is an astonishing and unique fact, but Soviet sailors had no connection with it. However, according to Thompson’s version, two Soviet ships were allegedly in the area and offered help but the Americans refused. In my mind, this information isn’t true. No Soviet ships were in close vicinity during the attack. Moreover, the very fact of the attack against the USS Liberty was practically unknown to the Soviet people. Probably, only the Soviet defense minister, Chairman of the Soviet government Kosygin, and several top officials in the government knew about it, that’s all.