Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed U.S. warnings that Russia is developing nuclear weapons in space as a hoax designed to panic Congress and increase spending on Ukraine.
“It’s clear that the White House is trying to encourage Congress to vote on the funding bill. That’s clear,” Peskov said. Said At a press conference.
“Let’s see what tricks the White House uses,” he sneered.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denounced the White House’s warning as a “malicious fabrication.”
“We saw these reports. This is part of a trend that has been going on for a decade, where Americans are making up malicious stories and attributing to us actions and intentions that they don’t like.” said Ryabkov. Said Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
“In working with them, we keep telling them that baseless allegations of any kind will not get any response. If they make any allegations, at least provide evidence. We should,” Ryabkov said of the Kremlin’s dealings with the Biden administration.
Ryabkov, like Peksov, declined to discuss the White House’s claims in depth until he knew more details.
“Therefore, let’s see how things develop in this regard. So far, we are only monitoring what is said there regarding this issue, that is, the official version.” he said.
of Story Ryabkov and Peskov’s response comes after Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued a vague warning Wednesday of a “grave national security threat” and President Joe Biden It began with a request that all information related to the information be declassified. that:
Comment from the chairman @RepMikeTurner: pic.twitter.com/OA9yJuEPlf
— House Intelligence Committee (@HouseIntel) February 14, 2024
anonymous US official Said CBS News and other media reported that Turner was referring to Russia “developing nuclear weapons that can destroy American satellites.” These officials said there was no evidence that Russia had deployed such a weapon, but that it was moving closer to having a nuclear capability in space.
One US official, responding to CBS News, said a “series of Russian space launches known as Kosmos, many of them carrying classified Defense Department payloads,” could be part of an orbital weapons program. It was suggested that there is a sex.
Lawmakers from both parties briefed on Mr Turner’s warning said the situation was a “serious problem” but not an “immediate crisis” or cause for “panic”.
“We just want to make sure everyone is on the wheel. We’re working on it and there’s no cause for alarm,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). .
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to discuss the details of the intelligence community warning with the press Wednesday. Sullivan said Turner had already offered to give a “private briefing” to Congressional leaders about the Russian threat, so he was “a little surprised” when Turner made a public statement. said.
Mick Mulvaney, former chief of staff to former President Donald Trump Said He was “completely stunned” by Turner’s public announcement.
“There’s no reason for Mike Turner to do something like this. If it was really serious, to use legal terminology, obviously an imminent danger, you wouldn’t want to make it public,” he said Wednesday. told reporters.
“The only thing that seems to be consistent with the facts so far is that Mike Turner wants more money for Ukraine and took this action to scare the people into voting. ,” Mulvaney said, offering essentially the same theory as Peskov. And Ryabkov.
England guardian on wednesday talked Despite several space and nuclear scientists who were skeptical of Turner’s warning, Hans Christensen, director of nuclear information for the Federation of American Scientists, said there may be a plausible threat looming. .
“Russia has conducted several experiments piloting satellites that may have been designed to jam other satellites,” Christensen noted.
“The issue is not the increased threat of nuclear weapons per se, but the increased threat to the nuclear command and control assets of other countries’ space bases. That would be highly destabilizing,” he said. Ta.
