WASHINGTON — The White House publicly confirmed Thursday that Russia has acquired a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon, but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has acquired the capability, but that such a weapon is not currently operational. U.S. officials are analyzing the information they have about the emerging technology and have been consulting with allies and partners.
“First, this is not an active capability that has been deployed and while Russia’s pursuit of this specific capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s security,” Kirby said. I’m not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack people or cause physical destruction here on Earth.”
The White House confirmed its intelligence after a vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, urging the Biden administration to release information about what he called a serious threat to national security.
Kirby said the process of reviewing and declassifying aspects of Russia’s capabilities was underway when Turner “unfortunately” released his statement.
“We have been very careful and deliberate in releasing the rating and sharing it with the public,” he added.
Russia has downplayed U.S. concerns about capacity.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described claims about a new Russian military capability as a ruse designed to get the US Congress to back aid to Ukraine.
“It is clear that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the relief bill, by hook or by crook,” Peskov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies. “Let’s see what trick the White House will use.”
Kirby said the option is space-based and would violate the international Outer Space Treaty, which is signed by more than 130 countries, including Russia. He declined to comment on whether the weapon is nuclear capable. The treaty prohibits the use of ‘nuclear weapons or other types of weapons of mass destruction’ in orbit around the earth or ‘the stationing of weapons in space in any other way’.
The White House said it would try to address the Russians’ concerns directly. Even as the White House sought to reassure Americans, Kirby acknowledged the matter was serious.
“I don’t want to minimize the potential for disruption here,” Kirby said.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was expected to brief lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday about the Russian threat.
The White House did not hide its frustration with the way Turner expressed his concerns about the threat.
“We make decisions about how and when to disclose intelligence in a careful, deliberate and strategic manner, in a manner of our choosing,” Kirby said.
“We will not be deterred from that process, regardless of what has found its way into the public domain in this particular case,” he added. “I can assure you that we will continue to keep members of Congress, our international partners, all of you and the American people as fully informed as possible.”
White House officials said U.S. intelligence officials are concerned about a broad declassification of intelligence. The US has been aware of Russia’s pursuit of anti-satellite capabilities for at least months, if not a few years. Biden has been regularly briefed on the issue by his national security team, including Thursday.
The US has regularly downgraded and exposed intelligence findings about Moscow’s plans and operations over the course of its nearly two-year war with Ukraine.
Such efforts have been aimed at highlighting plans for Russian disinformation operations or drawing attention to Moscow’s difficulties in prosecuting the war against Ukraine and coordinating with Iran and North Korea to protect the country to provide them with much-needed weapons.
Intelligence officials believed that initiating private involvement in the Russian anti-satellite threat could have been a more effective approach, Kirby said.
“We agree with that, which is obviously consistent with how we have conducted information downgrades in the past,” Kirby said. “This administration has paid a lot of attention to doing that in a strategic, deliberate way. And especially when it comes to Russia.â€
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AP writer Darlene Superville contributed reporting.
