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Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov (r.): Tried to appease
Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich / SNA / IMAGO
Does Russia possibly want to station nuclear anti-satellite weapons in space? According to US media, this is exactly what is currently being discussed in the White House. US secret services informed Congress and allies in Europe about the plans in Moscow.
Now Moscow is getting in touch. According to the Russian news agency Tass, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed that the information was nothing but "malicious fantasies." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also denied this. It is "obvious" that the White House is behind the narrative in order to get more funding from the US Congress for its fight against Russia. "We'll see what other tricks the White House uses," said Peskov.
US media had previously reported that intelligence agencies had gathered information about Russia's new nuclear ambitions in space. This is said to be about Russian nuclear capabilities that are directed against satellites in space and could pose a threat to national and international security.
“As far as I know, these reports are very, very new, at least for me.”
The New York Times wrote that such new Russian nuclear capabilities are still being developed and have not yet been used. There is therefore no acute danger. Fox News reported that using nuclear systems against satellites could potentially eliminate US military communications and intelligence. There was initially no official confirmation of the reports.
According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Germany has no knowledge of the alleged Russian plans. "As far as I know, these reports are very, very new, at least for me," said the SPD politician on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels. We will discuss this with our partners. He warned against giving hasty answers or thinking you have them. »We have to weigh that up. We have to clarify the technical questions and then see what the conclusions are," said the minister.
His British counterpart Grant Shapps also said in Brussels that he did not want to directly address possible new findings in the area. He simply said in general terms that it was known that opponents would always look for new ways of waging war. You have to be ready for challenges in space and cyberspace. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair called the reports worrying.
In order to be able to react better against attacks on satellites, NATO had already decided in 2021 that attacks from or in space could in future be treated as an alliance case in accordance with Article 5 on collective defense - in the same way as attacks on the ground or in the air, sea and or cyberspace.
The step was justified, among other things, by the fact that attacks on satellites could be used in the event of a war to paralyze parts of public life. For example, the processing of cashless payment transactions, mobile phone networks or navigation systems for road, sea and air transport could be severely affected.
mrc/dpa/Reuters