(Reuters) – The United States has reason to believe that Russia is working on developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon, which if detonated, could disrupt a wide range of crucial systems, from military communications to phone-based ride services. A source familiar with the matter made this revelation on Tuesday.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that it was his understanding the Russian system would involve placing a nuclear explosive device into orbit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed on Tuesday that Russia is against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and his defense minister outright denied reports that Russia is developing a nuclear capability for space.
The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence chose not to comment on the matter.
Reports about the potential Russian development surfaced after the Republican chair of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee issued a cryptic statement on Feb. 14, warning of a “serious national security threat.”
A clear sign that Washington believes Moscow is working on a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon came when a White House spokesperson commented on Thursday that the United States believes the system being developed by Russia would violate the Outer Space Treaty.
The 1967 treaty prohibits signatories, including Russia and the United States, from placing “in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction.”
The strained U.S.-Russian relations are further complicated by a range of issues, with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggering the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
The New York Times, without citing sources, reported on Saturday that America’s spy agencies have issued a warning in recent weeks about concerns that Russia may be planning a secret military satellite launch, raising the question of whether it could be used to put an actual nuclear weapon into space.
Bloomberg also reported on Tuesday that Russia could deploy a nuclear weapon or a mock warhead into space as early as this year, citing unnamed sources who said the United States believes Russia has no intention to detonate a device but there is a risk of an accidental explosion that could disable scores of satellites.
The White House and the Office of the Director of Intelligence declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Saint Paul, Minn.; Additional Reporting by Steve Holland and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
