Talks with India and China
Blinken worried about Russian nuclear weapons in space
February 18, 2024, 9:54 a.m
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According to US intelligence reports, Russia is working on a nuclear weapon for space. A detonation could have devastating consequences – for all states active in space. US Secretary of State Blinken calls on his colleagues in China and India to take action.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concerns about a possible Russian nuclear weapon in space to China and India at the Munich Security Conference. Blinken discussed the possibility of such a Russian step specifically with the respective foreign ministers, reports “New York Times”.
Since Putin has made his disdain for the United States clear, Blinken said, it is up to the leaders of China and India, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to dissuade him from what could turn into a catastrophe. The US Secretary of State is said to have alerted his counterparts from China and India to the devastating consequences. If a nuclear weapon exploded in space, not only US satellites would be affected – but also Chinese or Indian satellites.
According to experts, global communications systems would fail as a result of the use of nuclear weapons in space. The debris caused by the explosion could be scattered in low-Earth orbit and could make the navigation of Starlink satellites, even spy satellites, more difficult or even impossible.
Nuclear weapon as a means of pressure
Even if Russia places a nuclear weapon in orbit, the US administration believes, according to the New York Times, that the weapon would not be detonated in a timely manner. Instead, it would act as a “time bomb.” It would be a way for Putin to remind the West that he could do enormous damage to the global economy without directly targeting people on Earth if he overreached with sanctions or military action Any opposition to his ambitions in Ukraine or beyond would be harassed.
Only a few days ago it became known that Moscow was trying to put nuclear weapons into orbit so that they could attack satellites. Corresponding weapons are said to be currently in development and have not yet been deployed. That’s why they don’t currently pose an acute threat to the USA, Ukraine or Europe – but they will in the future.
The developments in Russia first came to attention due to the secret launches of military satellites surrounding the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s plans pose a serious national security risk, US government spokesman John Kirby said. These would also violate the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which prohibits the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space and which Russia signed, said Kirby.