US intelligence agencies are divided over whether Moscow will go that far, but the concern is so great that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has asked China and India to try to make concessions.
“When Russia conducted covert launches of military satellites — around the time it launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — U.S. intelligence officials began digging deeper into the mystery of what exactly the Russians were up to.
Later, intelligence agencies discovered that Russia was working on a new type of space weapon that could threaten thousands of satellites – the New York Times recounts.
Nuclear weapons in orbit?
In recent weeks, US agencies have sent a new warning: Another such launch may be in the works, and the question is whether Russia plans to use it to launch actual nuclear weapons into space. Agencies are split on the likelihood that President Vladimir Putin would go that far, though the issue is a concern for the Biden administration.
The NYT points out that “U.S. officials unanimously estimate that even if Russia puts a nuclear weapon in orbit, the weapon will not explode. Instead, it will serve as a reminder to Vladimir Putin if pressure comes to a halt due to economic sanctions. With military opposition to his actions in Ukraine and beyond, he can destroy economies without targeting people,” the NYT points out. .
Blinken asks for support
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken mentioned the possibility of Russian nuclear activity to his Chinese and Indian counterparts. “Blingen's message was stark: any nuclear explosion in space would destroy not only American satellites, but also those in Beijing and New Delhi,” we read.
Additionally, U.S. officials and outside analysts say such a scenario could disrupt global communications systems, causing everything from emergency services to cell phones, generators and pumps to malfunction. Debris from the explosion would be scattered throughout low-Earth orbit, making navigation difficult, if not impossible, among other things. Starlink satellites are used for Internet communication, but are also spy satellites. “Since Putin has made it clear that he hates America, Blinken pointed out that it is up to the leaders of China and India to persuade him to drop ideas that could end in disaster.”
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“The hand shall not tremble.” More threats from Medvedev
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