The situation is taken “very seriously” by the United States.
Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon, the White House said Thursday, saying it was a “worrying” element that did not, however, represent “an immediate threat.”
On Wednesday, the head of the Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives caused trouble in Washington by publicly inviting his peers in Congress to review “information relating to a serious threat to national security”, without further details.
American media assured that Russia intended to place a nuclear weapon in space against satellites.
Also read: Russian space nuclear weapon: threat, concerns, denials… what we know about the Kremlin project
Lifting the veil on this mysterious affair, the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House confirmed Thursday to journalists that it was “linked to an anti-satellite capability developed by Russia”.
However, he refused to specify whether it had a nuclear dimension or not.
It was not “deployed,” John Kirby said, adding: “While this Russian activity is concerning, there is no immediate threat to anyone's security.”
“Not a weapon to attack humans”
“We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause destruction on Earth,” John Kirby said.
But the United States is “monitoring the situation closely” and will continue “to take it very seriously.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Congress on Thursday to brief a group of eight elected officials with access to the most sensitive US intelligence.
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A Russian nuclear weapon in space?
Traveling to Tirana before going to the Munich Security Conference, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken clarified Thursday that the United States was discussing this threat with its allies.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which the United States and Russia are parties, prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.