Washington: General Chance Saltzman, commander of the U.S. Space Force, has announced that Russia has reportedly developed and already utilized kinetic weapons in space.

According to Burkina Information Agency, during a US Senate hearing, General Saltzman stated that the U.S. has observed Russia demonstrating aggressive capabilities in orbit. He asserted that the Russian armed forces "have deployed what could be considered kinetic weapons," and the use of these weapons has been observed by the U.S. military in orbit. Saltzman further mentioned that these weapons could potentially target U.S. satellites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously emphasized that Moscow is against "the deployment of nuclear weapons in space." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also remarked that the presence of nuclear weapons in space would be "inappropriate from all points of view," and highlighted that "existing delivery systems are more than sufficient."