The White House confirmed this Wednesday that the "serious threat" facing the United States is the development by Russia of a weapon against satellites in space.
John Kirby, one of the White House spokespersons, offered this Thursday more details about the "serious threat" that the United States faces and which the president of the House Intelligence Committee alluded to yesterday in an enigmatic statement. US Representatives, Mike Turner.
"I can confirm that this is an anti-satellite technology that Russia is developing," said Kirby, who refused to clarify whether it is a type of weapon that includes nuclear capability, something that had previously been reported by US media.
Kirby called the development of such weapons "concerning," but "there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety."
"We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or to cause physical destruction here on Earth. That said, we have been closely monitoring this Russian activity and we will continue to take this very seriously," the spokesperson stated. Kirby indicated that this type of weaponry "is not currently active" nor has it been deployed in space.
However, he noted that Russia has been working on developing this type of weaponry for "many months, and maybe even a few years," although it was not until a few weeks ago that the US intelligence community was able to conclude with greater confidence that Moscow continues to pursue this goal.
According to Kirby, Biden has closely followed this threat and has ordered that both US allies in the world be informed and that there be contact with Russia to address this problem, although it has not yet been possible to establish a direct line of communication with Russia. the Kremlin.
Likewise, Biden has asked the White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, his main foreign affairs advisor, to meet this afternoon with Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress to talk with them about the latest intelligence information on the matter. .
Additionally, the White House will brief the Senate when it reconvenes on Feb. 25, Kirby said.
Yesterday, Wednesday, Turner issued an enigmatic statement that caused a stir in Washington: he announced that the United States was facing a "serious threat," but did not specify its nature, and asked Biden to declassify intelligence information about said threat so that the public could access it.
Shortly after Tuner's announcement, the White House declined to offer more information; But the ABC television network, citing two sources familiar with the situation, indicated that this threat was related to Moscow's intention to put nuclear weapons in space with the intention of attacking satellites.
Satellites in space have become an important element of the war in Ukraine, as Ukrainian forces have been using SpaceX's Starlink constellation for their communications and planning how to act on the battlefield.
