Russian President Vladimir Putin says the United States is rapidly developing its military capabilities for possible space operations, and Washington views space as a potential theater of war.
Putin said during a meeting with Defense Minister and a number of officers in the city of Sochi, that his country strongly opposes the militarization of space, but US moves mean that Russia should continue to develop its own space sector, as he put it.
The Russian leader explained that the world's leading countries are developing space systems with military and dual use, and are working to improve their technical characteristics. "The US military and political leadership considers outer space as the scene of military operations."
US President Donald Trump first announced plans in March 2018 for the creation of space military forces, stressing that the new national defense strategy does not exclude the possibility of combat operations in the space.
In August, Trump announced the launch of a US space command at the Pentagon, whose mission would be to ensure the threat of US dominance from China and Russia in this new battlefield.
The new command oversees space, satellites and high-flying aircraft, and will be, for example, parallel to Centcom, which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East.