The Russian government recently dismissed rumors by the U.S. that it is constructing nuclear weapons in space as a threat to warn Congress to oppose providing Ukraine with additional funding.
In a statement, a spokesperson of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, pointed out the White House’s “obvious” plan to ensure that Congress passes a bill to send Ukraine billions of more dollars.
“It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money; this is obvious,” Peskov said. “We’ll see what tricks the White House will use.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov denounced the rumors spread by the U.S. as a “malicious fabrication.”
“We have seen these reports. This is part of a trend that has been there for a decade, with the Americans making up malicious stories and ascribing to us some actions and intentions that they don’t like,” Ryabkov told a news outlet in Russia.
Ryabkov continued by saying that throughout Russia’s cooperation with America, the Kremlin has informed those in the U.S. that “groundless” rumors will be dismissed.
“In working with them, we keep telling them that groundless allegations of any kind will get no reaction from us. If they make some claims, they should at least provide evidence,” he said, referencing the Biden administration.
Ryabkov refused to go further into detail regarding such rumors by the White House until he had additional information.
“So we’ll see how things will unfold in this regard. So far, we are just monitoring what is being said there, on the matter, that is, the official versions,” the Russian deputy foreign minister said.
Ryabkov’s comments come after the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) warned of a “national security threat” and requested that President Joe Biden declassify material concerning Russia’s alleged development of nuclear weapons in space.
NUCLEAR THREAT! New Report Claims Russia is Developing Nuclear Weapons IN SPACE! pic.twitter.com/rPsRSWjefW
— Trish Regan (@trish_regan) February 16, 2024
Turner suggested that Russia was “developing a nuclear-capable weapon that could take down U.S. satellites.”
Russian authorities have ignored such a claim, saying that there is no evidence the Kremlin has deployed such weapons in space.
A U.S. official who spoke with CBS News pointed out that an orbital weapon program could consist of “a series of Russian space launches known as Cosmos, many of which carry classified Ministry of Defense payloads.”
