NATO Chief Warns Russia Looking to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Space

Russia is looking to deploy nuclear weapons in outer space to increase its influence and potentially target satellites, the head of NATO claimed.

The Kremlin has faced growing accusations of engaging in sabotage against critical Western infrastructure, such as international undersea cables, and according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Kremlin may have its sights on a far more significant target.

Speaking to the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper, the former Dutch Prime Minister said: “We are aware of reports that Russia is examining the possibility of placing nuclear weapons in space.”

Rutte said that Russia’s capabilities in space are “outdated” and thus the Kremlin may seek to level the playing field against Western powers by deploying nuclear weapons to space.

The head of the Western military alliance said that such weapons would likely not be used to strike targets on Earth, but rather against satellites, which in turn could cause chaos on Earth.

“Space-based systems directly affect our lifestyle, for example, ensuring that cell phones, banking services and weather forecasts work,” he said. “But space is also very important for our deterrence and defense, just as important as the areas of land, sea, air and cyberspace.”

Mr Rutte noted that deployment of nuclear weapons into space would be in violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, of which Russia was a signatory.

Indeed, Article IV of the Treaty states that nations are prohibited from putting into “orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.”

NATO has become increasingly concerned with space as a potential area of conflict, announcing in 2021 that Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty, which mandates all members to come to the defence of another if attacked, would also apply to attacks in or originating from space.

The alliance also established the NATO Space Center in Ramstein, Germany in 2020, after formally recognising space as an operational domain alongside air, cyber, land, and sea.

This came after President Donald Trump created the United States Space Force (USSF) as the sixth branch of the American armed forces in 2019.

“Space is the world’s newest warfighting domain,” Trump said at the time, adding: “American superiority in space is absolutely vital.”

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