The White House confirmed Thursday the existence of a threat to the national security of the United States linked to an anti-satellite weapon from Russia, first mentioned on Wednesday by senior American officials.
• Read also: Nuclear weapons in space: Moscow considers accusations in the American press “unfounded”
“I can confirm that this is linked to an anti-satellite capability developed by Russia,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, adding that it was, however, “not an anti-satellite capability. ‘an immediate threat to the safety of any person’.
It all started with the publication on Wednesday of a cryptic statement from the head of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, inviting his peers in Congress to review “information relating to a serious threat to national security” .
No details on the nature of this threat or its imminence. Just a few lines, published on social networks, urging President Biden to “declassify all information” on the subject.
The message spread like wildfire and fueled speculation. And for good reason: it is very rare for the intelligence community to communicate openly about its current files, unless there is a direct risk to the general public.
In a delicate balancing act – elected representatives of Congress do not have the right to disclose confidential information to which they have access – the Republican leader of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson declares in an attempt to end the panic , “that there is no cause for alarm.”
“Unfounded”
Asked by AFP, a source close to the matter indicates that the said threat is “serious” but not “urgent”. Citing unidentified sources, several American media outlets speak of “extremely worrying” Russian military capabilities.
ABC News, first, ensures that Russia intends to place a nuclear weapon in space against satellites.
Asked about this information on Wednesday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared annoyed that Michael Turner had decided to raise the subject publicly.
“It’s his choice,” he said. “All I can tell you is that I’m going to see him, talk with him” on Thursday.
The senior official will be at Congress early this afternoon to present a briefing to a group of eight elected officials with access to the most sensitive American intelligence.
Traveling in Albania, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken indicated during a press conference that he would not give details on the nature of the threat.
He clarified, however, that it was not “active” but had the “potential” to become so and was taken “very seriously”.
“I expect that we will say more very soon,” added the secretary of state, specifying that the United States was discussing it with its allies.
Moscow for its part described this information as “malicious” and “baseless”, perceiving a maneuver by the American executive to force through an envelope on Ukraine, blocked for months in Congress.
“It is obvious. So let’s see what tricks, so to speak, the White House will pull on us,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The US Senate, with a Democratic majority, approved new aid of $60 billion for Kyiv but the Republican leader of the House refuses any vote on the project.
