Translated with AI from the Russian original.
Russian President Vladimir Putin jokingly called the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS a Russian secret weapon. He stated this at a joint Direct Line and press conference at Gostiny Dvor.
The President was asked about his views on conspiracy theories that claim the interstellar body is actually a spacecraft or an object of artificial origin.
I'll tell you, but this should remain strictly between us, this is secret information. This is our secret weapon, but we will use it only as a last resort.
Putin assured that comet 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth, as it is too far from it. And, if necessary, it can be "sent to Jupiter."
The Moon is 400,000 km away from us, and the object you are talking about is hundreds of millions of kilometers away. I don't think it poses any threat to us. And by the beginning of next year, the comet will leave the Solar System.
On December 19, at about 7:00 Moscow time, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS made a record close approach to Earth. It flew at a distance of 270 million km from Earth, which is 1.8 times greater than the distance from our planet to the Sun, before leaving the Solar System forever.
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