WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden sought to reassure the American public on Friday that there is no “nuclear threat” to the United States, even if Russia is considering using anti-satellite capabilities officials said will be used in space.
Asked if he was worried about the White House, Biden said: “The number one thing is that with what Russia is doing right now, No. 1, there is no nuclear threat to America or anywhere in the world” about Russia’s potential anti-satellite capabilities.
“No. 2, everything they’ve done or will do is about satellites in space and potentially damaging those satellites,” he added. “Number 3, there’s no evidence that they’ve decided to move forward with anything in space either.”
The question came after talking about Biden The death of Russian opposition leader Alexei NavalnyRussian President Vladimir Putin has accused Navalny of being responsible for Friday’s death in a Siberian prison.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, briefed top House leaders on the Russian threat Thursday behind closed doors on Capitol Hill. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also confirmed at a White House briefing on Thursday that the threat was “related to Russia’s developing anti-satellite capability.”
“First, this is not an active capability that has been deployed, and while Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is worrisome, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety,” Kirby told reporters. “We are not talking here about a weapon that can be used to attack or physically destroy people on Earth. That is, we are closely monitoring this Russian activity and will continue to take it very seriously.”
According to Kirby, Biden responded with a series of actions, including additional briefings to members of Congress and direct diplomatic contact with Russia, as well as with US allies and other countries.
A US official familiar with the intelligence and a congressional official told NBC News on Thursday that the threat is not a nuclear bomb that Russia is trying to send into space, but a Russian nuclear-powered space asset that could be weaponized. The officials said that although Russia has not revealed its potential, it is moving forward.
NBC News reports informed According to a 2019 article in the online publication The Space Review, weapons experts believe the threat is likely to be a nuclear-powered satellite. shared among experts after this week’s news.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov described the US information as a “harmful fabrication”, Russian state news agency TASS reports.
The threat information came after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, issued a cryptic statement The White House on Wednesday called for declassification of information related to an unnamed “serious national security threat.”
Sullivan later said he plans to brief top leaders on the House floor Thursday.
Courtney Kube, Dan De Luce, Alexander Smith and Tara Prindiville contributed.