United States | Russia | outer space | Allegations of an alleged space nuclear weapon have sparked renewed tensions between Russia and the US the world

See: Does Russia want to put an anti-satellite nuclear weapon in space? This is known

“Our position is very clear and transparent: we have always been and continue to be unequivocally opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.“Putin said.”On the contrary, we urge everyone to abide by all existing agreements on this matter.“

The Kremlin leader’s statements came less than a week after the White House confirmed that US intelligence services suspected that Moscow was planning to deploy nuclear weapons in outer space, although they acknowledged that the reports were preliminary and had no specifics. A device with nuclear charge or rather powered by nuclear energy.

– Origin of the charge –

On Wednesday, February 14, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Congressman Michael R. Turner reported that the working group had voted a day earlier in favor of releasing a series of intelligence services reports. that all members of Congress can see it, because they “A serious threat to national security“

In a subsequent letter, Democrat Jim Himes, who sits on the same commission, joined Turner in asserting that “identified an urgent issue regarding unstable foreign military capabilities that all policymakers in Congress should be aware of.“, reported by The Washington Post.

The next day, the White House confirmed that the report Turner was talking about existed, but tried to reassure the public that it would still be a developed system, that it would not pose a threat to humans. took it “very seriously”.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder were both displeased with Turner’s decision to disclose his existence.Classified information” about which they declined to give further details.

“The United States government was not too happy that this information was leaked, mainly because the intelligence services did not seem to fully agree with each other about the report. The alleged weapon is suspected, but not sure if it is the case. The truth is that so far there are only elements that make us skeptical about this. However, after the information was leaked, the White House was forced to report it. Normally this would not be information that would have been released because it is so preliminary.“, he comments Trade International analyst Francisco Bellande-Matosian.

– Space Weapon Use and Consequences –

This issue has, without a doubt, caused concern among various American sectors as well as its allies. Especially since the development or use of such weapons would mean that Russia would be in violation of the Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967, which limits the ability of nations to deploy any type of weapon in outer space.

The truth is that in recent years, as relations between the two have deteriorated, both the United States and Russia have abandoned a series of multilateral treaties signed at the time as a guarantee of peace.

“Although they have reneged on other agreements, the Russians have said they are abiding by the treaty and are instead calling for it to be strengthened. But it’s true that what Russia says doesn’t hold much value because they deny a lot of things that were true, like the invasion of Ukraine. So anything the Russian government might say should be taken with a grain of salt.” says Belande Matosian.

What little is known so far about the alleged Russian weapon would point to a device that would be used to attack satellite systems, damaging early detection radars and anti-missile defenses, among other things.

“After this, the question is whether the Russians are going to initiate something like this or they are going to use some bait to raise suspicion in the West. On the US side, they’re looking at whether Russia develops more and more nuclear weapons, the Russians want to modernize their weapons, they have new aircraft with more nuclear weapons capability, they’re looking at new missiles. And a few months ago it was revealed that they might finally be doing underground nuclear testing”, comments the analyst.

In an article published in “The Conversation”, Spencer A. Warren, a PhD in technology and international security from the University of California – San Diego, explained that these weapons would be able to damage satellites through gamma radiation waves created by nuclear explosions.

“The Kremlin’s interest in space weapons may be an attempt to reduce the United States’ ability to conduct war, threaten nuclear command, control and communications systems, or protect against space-based missile defenses. Another possibility is that the Russian defense industry promotes its development for profit.” Warren points out in his text.

The expert also warns that if such a deployment were to take place, it would necessarily break the so-called strategic stability, which, as he explains, involves a combination of stability in the face of a crisis based on the threat of nuclear escalation. During military crises, and stability in the face of an arms race.

“Space-based nuclear weapons increase the risk of a country resorting to nuclear weapons during a crisis” says the expert, before warning that this could lead to a new arms race in which countries like China, India or Pakistan will soon join increasingly ambitious space programs.

“With the treaties no longer in force, Russia may also end up with about 5,000 nuclear bombs that it initially agreed not to end up with the United States. This time the additional element of the Cold War is China, because China now wants to expand their own nuclear arsenal, obviously they are still far behind those two countries but it is still an additional actor.”, comments Belaúnde Matossian.