US fears Russia may put nuclear weapon in space

When Russia conducted a series of secret military satellite launches around the time of its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, American intelligence officials began delving into the mystery of what, exactly, the Russians were doing.

Later, spy agencies discovered Russia was working on a new kind of space-based weapon that could threaten the thousands of satellites that keep the world connected, according to The New York Times.

In recent weeks, a new warning has circulated from America’s spy agencies: Another launch may be in the works, and the question is whether Russia plans to use it to put a real nuclear weapon into space — a violation of a half-century-old treaty.

Despite the uncertainties, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken raised the possibility of the Russian nuclear move with his Chinese and Indian counterparts on February 16 and February 17 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Mr. Blinken’s message was blunt: Any nuclear detonation in space would take out not only American satellites but also those in Beijing and New Delhi.

In addition, US officials and outside analysts say, global communications systems would fail, making everything from emergency services to cell phones to the regulation of generators and pumps go awry. Debris from the explosion would scatter throughout low-earth orbit and make navigation difficult if not impossible for everything from Starlink satellites, used for internet communications, to spy satellites.

Since Mr. Putin has made clear his disdain for the United States, Mr. Blinken told them, it was up to the leaders of China and India, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to talk him down from what could turn into a disaster.

Some intelligence officials had objected to sharing too much about what the US knows because the details of the Russian programme remain highly classified, US officials said. But others argued that the United States needed to share enough to convince China and India of the seriousness of the threat. During the Munich meetings the two men took in the information, officials said, and Mr. Wang repeated China’s usual lines about the importance of the peaceful use of outer space.