Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Chinese and Indian counterparts on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference over the weekend about, amongst other things, the possibility of a Russian nuclear detonation in space.
According to the New York Times: “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 his meeting with his Chinese and Indian counterparts, Blinken told them that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his disdain for the United States known. Because of Putin’s feelings for America, it would be up to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “talk him down from what could turn into a disaster.”
🇺🇸🇷🇺 U.S. FEARS RUSSIA MIGHT PUT A NUCLEAR WEAPON IN SPACE
American spy agencies are divided on whether Moscow would go so far.
Still, the concern is urgent enough that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has asked China and India to try to talk Russia down.
Source: New York… pic.twitter.com/nP55hs162o
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 18, 2024
Russia first conducted a series of military satellite launches around the time of its invasion of Ukraine. There have been new warnings from American spy agencies that another launch could be in the works — and if there is one, whether or not Russia would put a real nuclear weapon in space.
If Russia were to do so, according to the Daily Caller, the country would be in “violation of an over 50-year treaty that has so far stopped the proliferation of the weapons into the region.”
“Besides telecommunications concerns, Blinken also warned that debris from the possible nuclear explosions would pose a threat to low-earth orbit navigation, putting further satellite operations at risk,” the article added.
U.S. officials are in agreement that even if Russia were to place the nuclear weapon in orbit, the weapon would not be detonated. The fear is that Putin would use the nuclear weapon as a threat to the rest of the world rather than actually detonating the warhead.
The New York Times article states that the weapon could “lurk as a time bomb in low orbit, a reminder from Mr. Putin that if he was pressed too hard with sanctions, or military opposition to his ambitions in Ukraine or beyond, he could destroy economies without targeting humans on earth.”
One anonymous American intelligence official said, “Putin may be betting that the threat of a nuclear explosion in space is different from the threat of destroying Los Angeles or London, as Putin would threaten equipment rather than people, which he believes gives him more leeway in deploying the new satellite.”
