The United States has directly warned Russia not to launch a nuclear-armed anti-satellite weapon into space, according to reports.
The White House has said that the weapon, which is designed to cripple Western satellite networks and would violate decades-old non-proliferation treaties, would mark a dangerous escalation in the standoff between the former Cold War powers.
If deployed into orbit, it is thought that the weapon could destroy satellite communications, GPS, space surveillance and military command operations by the US and its allies.
Leading members of Congress briefed on the US intelligence reports have called it a “serious national security threat” as America currently has no ability to defend its satellites from such a weapon. The White House insists it is not an immediate threat, but reports suggest Russia could be ready to launch the weapon into orbit by the end of the year.
After President Biden ordered direct diplomatic engagement with the Kremlin last week, senior US officials have broached the matter with their Russian counterparts. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has made contact with Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to President Putin, the Wall Street Journal reported. William Burns, the CIA director, also approached the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, last week.
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US diplomats have also sought to rally international condemnation of Russia, appealing to G7 governments as well as India and even China to rebuke Moscow for risking a nuclear arms race in space.
“There are so few spaces of possible strategic alignment for the US and China at Russia’s expense,” one US official told the Journal. “This is one of them.”
Russia has denied claims that it is building the weapon, accusing the White House of “malicious fabrication” in order to persuade Congress to approve military aid for Ukraine.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which Russia signed, bans the deployment of nuclear weapons in orbit, but Moscow has left several Cold War-era arms control treaties under Putin’s leadership.
Biden denounced Putin as a “crazy SOB” at a campaign event this week, prompting a retort from the Kremlin that American posturing was part of a failed “Hollywood cowboy” act.
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In an apparent show of strength, Russian state media released pictures of the Kremlin leader on Thursday taking a test flight on a supersonic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Putin, 71, was photographed in the co-pilot’s seat of the Tu-160M aircraft, during a 30-minute flight.
He had earlier mocked Biden’s insult in comments to state television.
“We are ready to work with any president. But I believe that for us, Biden is a more preferable president for Russia, and judging by what he has just said, I am absolutely right,” Putin said.
