The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that the United States has created a space command and adopted a new strategy, one of the goals of which is to develop a comprehensive military advantage in space. This is stated on November 16 in the message of the military department.
The Ministry's staff found hypocritical statements by representatives of the State Department and the Pentagon, who tried to accuse Russia of creating "risks" for the astronauts of the International Space Station (ISS) and called for "developing universal norms that would guide the world community in space exploration."
"For a number of years, the Russian Federation has been calling on the United States and other space powers to sign a treaty on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in space. The draft of this treaty has been submitted to the UN, but the United States and its allies block its adoption. Washington openly declares that it does not intend to bind itself to any obligations in space," the message says.
At the same time, according to the department, the United States created the space command in 2020 and officially adopted a new space strategy, one of the key goals of which is to create a comprehensive military advantage in space.
Also, employees of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation noted that the Pentagon, both before and after these official actions, is actively developing and testing in orbit the latest strike-combat weapons of various types, including the latest modifications of unmanned X-37 spacecraft, without any notification.
The Russian Defense Ministry regards these actions of the Americans as a threat to Russia, considering that they run counter to the stated goals of the peaceful use of outer space.
The ministry also stressed that against this background, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is carrying out the possibility of sudden damage to the country's security in outer space, as well as on earth by existing and promising foreign space facilities.
The Ministry of Defense reported that on November 15, a test was successfully conducted, following which the inactive Russian spacecraft "Tselina-D", which had been in orbit since 1982, was hit.
In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Russia had tested anti-satellite systems. This, he believes, allegedly contradicts Moscow's statements about the inadmissibility of placing weapons in outer space. According to Blinken, by its actions, the Russian Federation threatens the long-term sustainability of the space environment and the use of space by all countries.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that Russia had not warned the United States about testing anti-satellite weapons. He called the actions of the Russian Federation irresponsible.
On November 16, the Foreign Ministry denied the involvement of the Russian Federation in the risks to space activities. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there are no facts confirming that Russia created risks for activities in space.