Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder stated at a regular briefing that on May 16, Russia allegedly launched a device into space capable of carrying anti-satellite weapons. This concerns the latest launch from the Russian military Plesetsk cosmodrome "in the interests of the Ministry of Defense" of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with military satellites.
The Ministry of Digital Development reported that the carrier rocket helped send three civilian low-orbit satellites of the " рассвет-2" mission from the company "БЮРО 1440" into orbit. For the first time in the history of the Russian space industry, these new civilian satellites use 5G NTN.
However, according to the American version, this launch has completely different features.
We are monitoring the fact that on May 16 [...] Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit, which, according to our estimates, is likely to be an anti-satellite weapon, presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit.
Ryder stated that this satellite, which is suspicious to his country, is "placed in the same orbit as the US government satellite." Its characteristics, according to Ryder, coincide with the parameters of the devices allegedly already launched by Russia between 2019 and 2022. And therefore, the US is "continuing to monitor" the situation and is "responsible for protecting and defending outer space." Ryder is not aware of any negotiations and "any contacts" with the Russian side on this issue.
This is not the first such accusation against Moscow this year. In February 2024, the head of the US House Intelligence Committee, Michael Turner, stated that Russia had allegedly made significant progress in creating a new space-based nuclear weapon that could potentially be used to attack American space satellites.
President Vladimir Putin then noted that the Russian position is unchanged, clear and transparent: the country is categorically against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. He stressed that Russia has no nuclear weapons in space.
At the end of April, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan publicly stated that Russia was allegedly developing a satellite weapon carrying a nuclear charge.
Later, in early May, Russia submitted to the UN Security Council a resolution that would prohibit the launch from Earth, placement and use of any weapons of mass destruction, and any weapons in outer space. Including nuclear.
However, the United States, France, Great Britain, Japan, Slovenia, the Republic of Korea and Malta opposed this Outer Space Treaty, effectively blocking the possibility of demilitarizing space.
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