The White House said Thursday that Russia is developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon that is "troubling" to the US but poses no immediate threat to people on Earth. The announcement came a day after US lawmakers warned of an unspecified but serious national security threat to the country.
Moscow denied the "malicious" and "unfounded" claims, describing them as a White House ploy to pass a multibillion-dollar Ukrainian war aid package that is currently stalled in Congress. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing at the White House, “I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing."
He added, “This is not an active capability that’s been deployed. And though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety." However, he claimed that doing so would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which both the US and Russia are signatories and which forbids the use of nuclear weapons in space.
He said that the weapon might disrupt important military and commercial satellites and endanger astronauts in low orbit. Kirby said, “We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth."
Following up with officials, US President Joe Biden directed them to contact Moscow regarding the weapon; so far, Moscow has not replied.
Fear had been brewing in Washington since Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Turner called for Biden to "declassify all information relating to this threat" in a public statement he made on Wednesday, citing a "serious national security threat."
However, the White House was displeased with the lawmakers' early disclosure, as Kirby stated they were investigating whether US intelligence sources and procedures had been compromised.
The White House's request for $60 billion in military aid to support Ukraine's defence against the Russian invasion, which is in its third year, has put Democrat Biden and the Republican-led House at odds.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, a Republican, has consistently stated that he will not discuss security measures for allies until the immigration system in the United States is strengthened. As a result, he is refusing to allow a vote on the Senate-passed bill.
Avdiivka, a beleaguered frontline town in Ukraine, is "at risk of falling into Russian control," according to Kirby, in part because of a shortage of ammunition.Moscow denied the technology claims, labelling them as an attempt by the US to discredit Russia and force through the funding for Ukraine.
The White House was "trying to get Congress to vote on the appropriations bill any way it can," according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
“It’s obvious. Let’s see what tricks, so to speak, the White House is going to pull," he was reported as saying. The Kremlin's remarks, according to Kirby, were "bollocks."
Since President Vladimir Putin declared he was ready to use a nuclear weapon in the event of an existential threat, the West has accused Russia of reckless nuclear rhetoric. Nuclear weapons deployment in space is prohibited by the Outer Space Treaty, to which both the United States and Russia are parties.
In the meantime, Putin stated that, when it came to the US presidential election in November, he preferred the “predictable” Biden over Donald Trump. Kirby went on, "Mr. Putin should just stay out of our elections."
