Kremlin dismisses US warning about Russian nuclear capability in space

MOSCOW – Russia on Feb 15 dismissed

a warning by the United States

about its supposed new nuclear capabilities in space, calling it a “malicious fabrication” and a trick by the White House aimed at getting American lawmakers to approve more money to counter Moscow.

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

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment on the substance of the reports until the details were unveiled by the White House. But he said Washington’s warning was clearly

an attempt to get Congress to approve more money

.

“It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a Bill to allocate money. This is obvious,” he was quoted as saying by TASS.

“We’ll see what tricks the White House will use,” Mr Peskov said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow’s point man on arms control, accused the US of “malicious fabrication”.

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 US, by far the biggest nuclear powers, have both expressed regret about the steady disintegration of arms-control treaties that sought to slow the Cold War arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear war.

The US casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat, while US President Joe Biden argues that this century will be defined by an existential contest between democracies and autocracies.

Russia says the post-Cold War dominance of the US is crumbling, and that Washington has for years promoted chaos across the planet while ignoring the interests of other powers. REUTERS