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The White House said Thursday it had received “concerning” intelligence that Russia is developing an advanced “anti-satellite capability,” confirming reports that had raised alarm bells among defense hawks on Capitol Hill.
John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said that while he would only reveal “the specific nature of the threat”, the Kremlin’s advances pose “no immediate threat to anyone’s security”.
U.S. intelligence officials briefed the Financial Times have detailed Russia’s efforts to deploy a space-based nuclear weapon that could be used to disable American satellites. Kirby, however, declined to say whether the capability was “nuclear.”
He acknowledged that the advances involve “space” capabilities and would be in direct violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty to which more than 100 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia, are party. The treaty prohibits signatories from deploying nuclear weapons in space.
Kirby warned that intelligence showed Russia was “developing” the new anti-satellite system, and that it was “not an active capability that was deployed.”
“We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth,” he added, noting that President Joe Biden has been kept “fully briefed” on the situation and will continue to address the matter. “very seriously”.
Kirby said the Biden administration has begun “direct diplomatic engagement with Russia,” but provided no details on contacts with the Kremlin.
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, briefed senior leaders of the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon and will address members of the US Senate upon returning from recess later this month, Kirby added.
The White House revelations about the intelligence coup were forced into the public sphere by Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. On Wednesday, Turner publicly called for the White House to declassify information about a “serious national threat” that he did not detail, sending Washington into a frenzy.
Kirby criticized Turner’s move on Thursday and noted that U.S. intelligence agencies have “serious concerns about a broad declassification of this information.” Overall, the U.S. intelligence community is reluctant to reveal sensitive findings for fear that it will allow adversaries to uncover American sources and methods of intelligence gathering.
“Eventually we would get to a point where we would be able to share it with the American people, and we will again, as appropriate,” Kirby said.