Russia defended its right to test anti-satellite missiles, as the United States, China or India have done before, and accused Washington of blocking its initiative to prevent an arms race in space for years.
The Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, admitted that Russia tested yesterday (Monday), a missile that “it hit an old satellite with very high precision ”.
According to a statement from his department, a military radioelectronic espionage satellite Tseliná-D (Cosmos-1408), launched in 1982 by the former Soviet Union, was destroyed in the test.
The US State Department, NATO, and the US space agency, NASA, rated the essay as “reckless”, “dangerous” e “irresponsible“Because it put”at risk”To the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) for the space debris generated, they said.
According to Washington, the Russian satellite explosion generated more than “1,500 identifiable space debris” and “hundreds of thousands smaller in size”.
No threat
“The fragments that were formed pose no threat to space activity”, Assured Shoigú.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated for its part that all the fragments of the destroyed satellite “were included in the main catalog of the spatial control system”, For its corresponding follow-up.
And the Russian state agency, Roscosmos, assured that its main priority is to guarantee the safety of the crew of the orbital platform and that it continues to monitor the situation to “prevent and counteract all possible security threats”Of the station and its occupants.
Russia also categorically denied that the anti-satellite missile test violates its international agreements.
Moscow denies that it has to warn
“We don’t have to inform anyone when we test our anti-missile or anti-satellite systems. We have no obligation to do so”Said General Vladimir Dvorkin, former director of Research Institute No. 4 of the Russian Defense Ministry.
He explained that Russia alerts the United States when it conducts ICBM test launches.
“There is nothing special about this anti-satellite missile test, save the lack of care. That cloud of fragments should not have been created“Dvorkin told the Interfax agency.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not hesitate to describe it as “hypocrites“The statements of the Pentagon and the State Department, among other things because”previously the US, China and India conducted similar tests in outer space”.
EE.UU. bloquea tratado
Added to this, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, that Washington calls on Moscow to develop “universal standards” for exploring outer space.
But “For some reason, for years it has continued to block an initiative by Russia and China on preventing an arms race in space.”, He denounced.
Defense specified that the draft of this treaty to prevent the deployment of weapons in space has been presented to the UN, but the United States “openly declare that you do not want to be bound by any obligation in the space”.
Moscow recalls that Washington created Space Command in 2020 and officially adopted a new space strategy in which one of the “main objectives is ‘to create a comprehensive military advantage in space’”.
“To comply with this strategy, the Pentagon tests different means of attack in orbit, without notifying anyone.“Lavrov assured.
According to Defense, the Pentagon “is actively developing and testing without notification in orbit the latest attack and combat weapons of various types, including the latest modifications of the X-37 unmanned spacecraft″.
“Actions by the US side are assessed as a threat and are inconsistent with the stated goals of the peaceful use of outer space”He added.
Moscow assured that for this reason it carries out planned activities to “strengthen defense capacity and exclude the possibility of sudden damage to the country’s security by existing and future foreign space assets”.
Call for dialogue
Despite the cross accusations, Lavrov called on the United States to “sit at the table “ negotiations to address mutual concerns. “We are ready”.
The test of the Russian anti-satellite missile will also be the subject of talks between two senior NASA officials in Russia on Wednesday, the head of the US ISS program, Joel Montalbano, and the agency’s number three, Bob Kabana, with representatives. of Roscosmos.
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