US Claims Russia To Launch Anti-Satellite Nuclear Weapon Into Space This Year

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday weighed in directly on last week’s wild US media reporting that Russia has obtained “troubling” nuclear capabilities in space as part of a new anti-satellite weapon.

Putin in the fresh statements rejected the entire premise of White House and media talking points, explaining that Russia only possesses space capabilities no different than what “other nations, including the US have.”

The Russian leader explained during a public meeting with his defense minister “Our position is quite clear and transparent: we have always been and remain categorically opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.”

He emphasized: “Just the opposite, we are urging everyone to adhere to all the agreements that exist in this sphere.” This was an apparent reference to the international Outer Space Treaty which prohibits “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit. Russia is among 130 countries which are signatories.

Defense Minister Shoigu responded to Putin’s words by saying of the US and West are fully aware Russia doesn’t possess these supposed space weapons. “And they know it,” he said…

“We haven’t deployed any nuclear weapons in space or any elements of them to use against satellites or to create fields where satellites can’t work efficiently,” Shoigu said.

Putin also took the opportunity to issue a new warning to the West related to the Ukraine war, and ongoing Washington resistance to even the idea of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

“The U.S. and the West, for one thing, are calling for Russia’s strategic defeat, while, on the other hand, they would like to have a dialogue on strategic stability, pretending that those things aren’t connected,” he said. “It won’t work.”

Meanwhile, after Biden admin officials basically walked back at least some of last week’s initial breathless reporting on ‘Russian space nukes’, Bloomberg reports on this new development Tuesday:

The US has told allies that Russia could deploy a nuclear weapon or a mock warhead into space as early as this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Russia is developing a space-based capability to knock out satellites using a nuclear weapon, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A nuclear warhead in orbit would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which Russia is a signatory.

And this is based on the usual and dubious “people familiar with the matter”…

As we and others have observed before, the timing of these ultra-alarmist headlines is interesting, given the November election just around the corner. To be expected, the Democrats are really ramping up the supposed ‘Trump-Putin connection’ at a moment the turnout at Trump campaign rallies continue to be huge.

Last Friday the Kremlin had called the whole allegation “malicious fabrication”. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had explained he believes it was a trick by lawmakers to get Biden’s massive Ukraine and foreign defense aid package passed. “It’s obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook,” he had said.