MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed United States warnings about Moscow’s new nuclear capabilities in space as a “malicious fabrication” and a White House ploy to get US lawmakers to approve more money to fight Russia.
The United States has informed Congress and allies in Europe of new intelligence related to Russia’s nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat. US officials said it was a Russian anti-satellite weapon in development and not an immediate threat.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment on the substance of the reports until the details were revealed by the White House. But he said the warning to Washington was apparently an attempt to get Congress to approve more money.
“It is clear that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on the appropriations bill; that’s obvious,” he told reporters.
“We’ll see what tricks the White House uses.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow’s top man for arms control, accused the United States of a “malicious fabrication,” TASS reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday during a visit to Tirana, Albania, that Washington is talking to allies and partners about the issue.
“This is not an active capability, but it is a potential one that we take very, very seriously. And I would expect we’ll have something to say soon, very soon in fact, so stay tuned,” he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Both Moscow and Washington have warned of the risk of conflict between NATO and Russia.
Russia and the United States are the largest nuclear powers, together possessing about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. Both also have advanced military satellites orbiting the Earth.
Space nukes?
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Russia is developing a space-based anti-satellite capability that has not yet been deployed. He said US President Joe Biden had asked for direct diplomatic talks with Moscow about it.
The nuclear component of what was being developed was not explained, but analysts said it was more likely to be a nuclear-powered device that blinds, jams or fries the electronics inside satellites than an explosive nuclear warhead.
Threat satellites could cause all sorts of mischief: undermining communications, surveillance, intelligence, and command and control around the world, including in the nuclear sphere.
Experts said the United States does not have the capability to counter such a weapon.
The threat came to light after US Representative Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued an unusual statement warning of the threat. On Thursday, another Republican member of the House of Representatives, Andy Ogles, called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to investigate the impact of Turner’s actions on foreign and domestic policy and asked whether he should remain speaker.
Global competition
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed congressional officials, including Johnson and Turner, on Thursday about the threat.
House Speaker Mike Johnson later said House leaders had known about the problem for “several weeks.”
“It is a very serious matter. It includes Russia,” Johnson told reporters, adding that the administration and Congress would remain in close contact. “And it will be dealt with.”
Turner said he had “a lot of confidence” in the Biden administration’s response and that officials had suggested it was a Russian anti-satellite weapon.
The United States views Russia and China as its biggest nation-state competitors, saying both are developing a range of new weapons systems, including nuclear, cyber and space capabilities.
Turner issued his cryptic warning about the Russian threat as US lawmakers debate whether to approve $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine fighting Russian invaders, Israel over its war in Gaza and Taiwan to push back against China in Indo – The Pacific.
In the early years of the Cold War, after Russia had leapt ahead in the space race and both sides had developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, the West proposed a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in space.
The final result was the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which prohibits the launch of any weapons of mass destruction into orbit or space.
In recent years, disagreements between Moscow and Washington have eroded the framework of arms control treaties that sought to reduce the risk of nuclear war between them.
