Russia warned the United States not to use weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in space. Moscow even threatened to respond in an emergency if Washington dared to do so.
The warning was in reaction to Washington's plan to create the Space Force. Russian Senator Viktor Bondarev said the US plan could cause havoc.
According to him, Moscow is ready to respond strongly if the US violates the space agreement by placing weapons of mass destruction into orbit.
"Space militarization is the road to disaster," said Bondarev, who served as head of the Russian Federation's Defense and Security Committee, told the RIA news agency.
His comments came a day after US President Donald Trump ordered the creation of a new US military branch that would be tasked to operate what he called the "forbidden sky".
The senator warned that Washington could potentially violate international agreements governing the demilitarization of space. The US plan, he said, puts international security in grave danger.
"There is a big risk that Americans will commit a serious offense in this field, if people take into account what they do in other fields," Bondarev said, quoted Wednesday (20/6/2018).
"If the US withdraws from the 1967 treaty prohibiting the spread of nuclear weapons in space, (such a move) will be followed by a formidable response not only from our country but also from other countries, which will be aimed at maintaining international security," he said.
The 1967 Space Treaty (1967 Outer Space Treaty), in which the US is a signatory, prohibits the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Earth orbit. The treaty also prohibits states to test any weapon in space, or build military bases on the Moon and other celestial objects.
On Monday, Trump in his speech specifically ordered the "permanent presence" of the US mission on the Moon. Although he did not say if the US military would be involved in the mission, the US leader has called for Washington to be "dominated" in space on the grounds of national security issues.
The US has a history of unilateral withdrawal of international treaties on military activity. For example, in 2002, US President George W. Bush withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, which has been one of the main pillars of the détente for nearly 30 years.
Not long ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of de-facto abandoning the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, as Washington deployed a system of ballistic missile defense systems in Romania. The system can be easily converted into medium-range projectiles to target Russia.
Material for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Russia warned the US not to use weapons of mass destruction in space.