By Dan De Luce, Julie Tsirkin, Scott Wong, Rebecca Shabad and Kyle Stewart -
NBC News
Russia is developing a space nuclear weapon designed to attack US satellites, three sources familiar with this national security threat told NBC News.
The weapon is not yet active, the sources said, but Russia's search for an advanced device that could endanger the vital US satellite network has caused concern in Washington DC and led the chairman of the Intelligence Committee to The House of Representatives, Republican Mike Turner, to issue an unpublished statement on Wednesday in which he asked the White House to declassify information about a “serious threat to national security” that he did not identify in his note.
All three sources consulted by NBC News indicated that Turner was referring to Russian efforts to place a nuclear weapon in space that could destroy satellites that serve as the backbone for civil communications, navigation, military operations and intelligence gathering. from USA
Police and military guard Red Square near the Kremlin, in Moscow, on June 24, 2023.Getty Images
ABC News reported that the threat cited by Turner in his note referred to a Russian anti-satellite nuclear weapon.
Turner's statement came ahead of what the White House said was a briefing for congressional leaders Thursday.
President Joe Biden has been closely monitoring this threat and instructed White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to speak with congressional leaders, according to two sources.
White House officials admitted that the issue is “serious,” but that there are ways to “contain” the threat without triggering mass panic.
Russia responded Thursday, rejecting the U.S. warnings, which it called a “trick” and “malicious fabrication.”
Vladimir Putin's regime spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, noted: "It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money" to Ukraine.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's key player in arms control, accused the US of “malicious fabrication,” the state news agency TASS reported.
Senior US military officials have, however, expressed concern about the threat posed by Russian and Chinese efforts to build anti-satellite weapons.
On Wednesday afternoon, House members began filing in and out of the high-security room in the Capitol basement, known as SCIF, where the most sensitive classified information is shared with lawmakers.
Shortly afterward, Sullivan addressed Turner's statement at a news conference and suggested that he was perplexed because a session was already scheduled for Thursday.
Biden and the Senate are urging the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to approve aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, as well as aid to Israel and Taiwan.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, has said that he will not vote on the aid package approved by the Senate, claiming that he wants conservative border security measures to be added.
Turner recently returned from a congressional delegation trip to Ukraine and explained last Friday that all lawmakers “have access to intelligence regarding the risk that not only the United States, our allies, but the world faces as a result of "Russia's aggression against Ukraine."
Former President Donald Trump has faced strong backlash after he said at a rally on Saturday that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries if they did not contribute enough to defense as part of the alliance's mutual protection agreement. .
He said he would urge Russia “to do whatever it wants” to those countries.
Trump repeated the same thing Wednesday night at a rally in South Carolina, although this time he made no mention of encouraging aggression.
“If they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect, okay?
One of the heads of the countries said: 'Does that mean that if we don't pay they won't protect us?
And I said, “That's exactly what it means.
"I'm not going to protect you," Trump told the crowd.
A supplemental national security funding package, including aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, is stalled in Congress.
This month, Trump was instrumental in the Senate's failure to move forward with a foreign aid deal.