Russian foreign ministry Maria Zakharova on Wednesday expressed alarm over President Donald Trump’s order for the Pentagon to “immediately” establish a “space force” as an independent service branch. She informed reporters that Moscow is closely examining Washington’s plan to weaponize outer space.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressing reporters on Wednesday. (Source: Albert Dzen/TASS)
Here is the moment when President Trump announced plans for his new space force:
During a press conference Monday, Donald Trump said, “we must have American dominance in space. Very importantly, I am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the Sixth Branch of the Armed Forces.”
Pres. Trump calls for establishment of a “space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.”
“When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space.” https://t.co/NkJuIoyFEp pic.twitter.com/1b4w6NGDTC
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2018
“We’ve taken note of the US president’s instruction given to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to pull the military space force out of the Air Force and to convert it into a separate branch,”Zakharova said. “What makes this piece of news most alarming is the purpose of the instruction was described in very clear terms – dominance in space.”
Zakharova told reporters this confirms that Washington “is hatching plans for putting weapons in space with a view to the possibility of conducting combat operations there.”
“It’s not just guesses. It’s the understanding of the realities. Naturally, we keep the closest watch on Washington’s intentions and analyze the likely effects,” Zakharova said.
“A military buildup in space, in particular, after the deployment of weapons there, would have destabilizing effects on strategic stability and international security.
“Russia takes a fundamentally different position and attaches priority to using and exploring space exclusively for peaceful purposes,” Zakharova said.
“Over the past few years, we put forward a number of initiatives for preventing a space arms race. We are determined to push ahead with pro-active work along these lines geared to obtaining specific results.”
Zakharova warned that Washington could trigger the next evolution of the Cold War, however, this time, it could be in the heavens.
“For instance, take its wish to achieve monopoly on nuclear weapons,” she said.
“At a certain point, all this resulted in the toughest nuclear arms race and terrible escalation of tensions in the international scene. We are urging Washington to display common sense and avoid repeating mistakes made in the past.”
“As for those who wish to know more about Russia’s military-space force, I’d like to stress that its nature is purely defensive,” Zakharova said. “Our country is not interested in tackling any tasks in space with the use of attack weapons.”.
Released on October 2017, the US Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, drafted a new strategy for how US ground forces will operate, fight, and campaign successfully across multiple domains – space, cyberspace, air, land, maritime – against all enemies in the 2025-2040 timeframe.
As we mentioned in last year’s report, Washington is gearing up for decades of hybrid wars starting around 2025. So, President Trump’s executive order creating the sixth military branch [space force] comes as no surprise, as the build-up towards the next World War has undoubtedly startled Russia.
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