Mr. Putin spoke out about rumors that Russia put nuclear weapons into space 0
(Dan Tri) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu responded to information that Moscow could deploy nuclear weapons in space.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on February 20 (Photo: Reuters).
`Our stance is very clear and transparent: We always firmly oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons in space,` President Putin announced on February 20.
`We not only call on the parties to maintain the treaties already in force, but also continuously insist on strengthening them,` Putin added.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, an official who was present at the Kremlin on February 20 to report on Russia’s military activities in Ukraine, also spoke out about rumors from the US.
`Russia has not deployed and has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. Russia has no such plans,` Mr. Shoigu emphasized.
Previously, a source on February 14 told news agency Reuters that the US had informed the country’s Congress and its European allies of new intelligence related to Russia’s nuclear activities and efforts to develop them.
However, this source added, Russia’s new weapons do not pose any urgent threat to the United States.
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 `energy-based systems`.
The Kremlin rejected the US warning about Moscow’s new nuclear weapons in space, calling it a `malicious fabrication`.
Russia’s special military campaign in Ukraine has sparked the biggest confrontation between the West and Moscow since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Both Moscow and Washington have warned of the risk of a NATO conflict
Russia and the US are the world’s largest nuclear powers.
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.
However, in recent years, disagreements between Moscow and Washington have eroded the framework of arms control treaties intended to reduce the risk of nuclear war between the two sides.
