‘Russia Launches Anti-Satellite Weapon’ US Says; Moscow Denies Allegations
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia has denied allegations by the United States that it launched a weapon able to attack satellites as concerns mounted about a weapons race in space between the two nuclear powers.
U.S. Space Command said it has evidence of a Soyuz rocket launch from Russia’s Plesetsk site, saying it likely involved “a counter space weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit.”
Washington had earlier warned that Moscow was developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon, prompting denials by the Kremlin.
U.S. Space Command said the May launch, which dates as May 16, included COSMOS 2576, a type of Russian military “inspector” spacecraft that U.S. officials have long said exhibits reckless space behavior.
However, Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday that the May 17 launch had a spacecraft on board but gave no details about what it was for.
The Kremlin vehemently denied assertions by U.S. officials that Moscow is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon.
“I don’t think we should respond to any fake news from Washington,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian media.
INTERNATIONAL LAW
“The Americans can say whatever they want, but our policy does not change from this,” said Ryabkov, adding that Moscow had “always consistently opposed the deployment of strike weapons in low-Earth orbit.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia acted in full accordance with international law.
“We are not violating anything. We have repeatedly advocated a ban on deploying any weapons into space. Unfortunately, our initiatives were rejected, including by the United States,” Peskov told reporters.
President Vladimir Putin and then-defense minister Sergei Shoigu denied U.S. assertions in February that Russia was developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon designed to disrupt everything from military communications to phone and broadcasting services.
Concerns about a possible space war emerged while Russian forces back on Earth continued pounding Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Wednesday that Russian advances on the battlefield are linked to the late arrival of key Western weapons.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and injured in the war since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.