Kremlin dismisses US warning about Russian nuclear capability in space

Russia on Thursday dismissed a warning by the United States about new Russian nuclear capabilities in space, calling it a "malicious fabrication" and a trick by the White House aimed at getting US lawmakers to approve more money to counter Moscow.

The United States has told Congress and allies in Europe about new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

The source said that the new capabilities related to Russian attempts to develop a space-based weapon do not pose an urgent threat to the United States.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment on the substance of the reports until the White House unveiled the details. 

But he said Washington's warning was an attempt to get Congress to approve more money.

"It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money, this is obvious," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.

"We'll see what tricks the White House will use," Peskov said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow's point man on arms control, accused the United States of "malicious fabrication", TASS reported.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine - something Moscow calls a special military operation - has triggered the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Both Moscow and Washington have warned of the risk of a conflict between NATO and Russia.

Russia and the United States, by far the most extensive nuclear powers, have both expressed regret about the steady disintegration of arms-control treaties, which sought to slow the Cold War arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear war.

The United States casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat. At the same time, US President Joe Biden argues that an existential contest between democracies and autocracies will define this century.

Reuters