Mr. Biden dismissed the threat from Russian nuclear weapons in space 0
(Dan Tri) – US President Joe Biden said that there is no nuclear threat to the American people or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at the moment.
US President Joe Biden (Photo: Reuters).
`First of all, there is no nuclear threat to the American people or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at this time…Furthermore, there is no evidence that they have
The above comment was made after US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner on February 14 warned of a `serious national security threat`.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Washington has new intelligence related to Russia’s nuclear activities and efforts to develop weapons in space.
A day later, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated this view, saying `this possibility is not high`.
Analysts who track Russia’s space programs say the threat in space may not be a nuclear warhead, but a high-energy device that requires nuclear power to carry out a series of attacks.
`It’s more likely that Russia is developing a nuclear-powered system capable of electronic warfare while in orbit, not in orbit,` said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.
A 2023 US Defense Intelligence Agency report said Russia is developing a range of weapons designed to target individual satellites and may also be developing `high-energy systems`.
On February 15, the Kremlin also rejected the US warning about Moscow’s new nuclear weapons in space, calling it a `malicious fabrication`.
Brian Weeden, an analyst at the Secure World Foundation, said Russia would undermine its credibility if it detonated a nuclear weapon in space.
James Acton, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank, said if Russia put nuclear weapons into orbit, it would be a `violation of the Outer Space Treaty.`
The 1967 treaty, to which the United States and Russia are both members, prohibits the signatories from placing in orbit around the earth any object carrying a nuclear weapon or any other weapon of mass destruction.
