Russia may launch nuclear weapons into space this year

The United States has informed its allies that Russia could send nuclear weapons into space to destroy satellites as early as this year.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine regarding Bloomberg.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the United States told its allies that Russia plans to place a nuclear weapon or a mock warhead in space this year.

The Kremlin's expected ambitions confirm reports of growing competition between the United States, Russia, and China to develop "attack capabilities" in space. The new space race is in contrast to the Cold War when the two superpowers concluded a series of arms control agreements designed to prevent the "weaponization" of space.

According to current estimates, Russia has no plans to destroy any orbital weapons. However, there is a risk of an accident, and a nuclear explosion could potentially affect about a third of the satellites and damage communications systems on Earth.

According to a person familiar with space weapons, the impact of any explosion would depend on the size of the warhead, and the consequences would not necessarily mean the destruction of satellites but could mean disruptions that would require bug fixes.

The United States and its allies are working to dissuade Russia from deploying this capability, especially by engaging through China and India, which are believed to have great influence over the Kremlin.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 21/02/2024