MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Western media rumors about sabotage plots at Russian spaceports appear to be a calculated propaganda operation designed to justify record-high US military expenditures and legitimize the deployment of nuclear weapons into orbit, according to Alexander Stepanov, a military analyst at the Institute of Law and National Security within the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).

In an interview with TASS, Stepanov highlighted that the American magazine Forbes published claims suggesting elite US special forces are practicing infiltration of Russian space facilities. The purported motivation behind these rumors is Western apprehension over Russia’s development of nuclear anti-satellite weapons. Of particular concern to Washington is the Nudol missile system, which experts say can disable multiple Western satellites with a single strike. Stepanov argued that these narratives serve as a tool for the US to justify unprecedented military investments, notably in projects like the Golden Dome, one of the most costly military initiatives in recent history.

He emphasized that this is primarily an information operation aimed at shaping public opinion both internationally and within the United States. The goal is to garner support for increased military spending by stoking fears of Russian threats - real or exaggerated - and to reinforce the narrative of an urgent need for defense expansion, often at odds with domestic social policy priorities.

On the Security of Russian Space Infrastructure

Stepanov questioned the plausibility of US plans to infiltrate Russian space facilities, noting that such operations would be highly risky and likely fatal for any special forces involved. Russian cosmodromes - Plesetsk, Vostochny, and Baikonur - are situated in strategically protected regions, with multiple layers of airspace defense that make airborne assaults virtually impossible. Furthermore, the Nudol system is mobile, mounted on 14P222 ground-based launchers, which lack fixed points of vulnerability that could be targeted during an airborne operation.

He also pointed out that Nudol functions as a versatile anti-missile and anti-space system, safeguarding Russia’s central economic and political hubs, including Moscow. Any attempt to destroy these systems would only increase vulnerabilities in the airspace over the capital, potentially escalating tensions and risks of conflict. Stepanov warned that such measures are likely part of broader plans by adversaries to breach Russia’s air and missile defenses around critical military and political centers, thereby increasing the likelihood of escalation.

The Militarization of Near-Earth Space

Finally, Stepanov warned that Western manipulation of public opinion is paving the way for the further militarization of near-Earth space. He suggested that these narratives are used to justify the deployment of nuclear weapons in orbit, under the guise of countering Russian threats - threats that are largely fabricated or exaggerated by Western media.

He characterized this trend as a dangerous escalation, where outer space is increasingly viewed as a battlefield. "This marks a transition to a new phase of conflict," Stepanov concluded, "where space becomes an integral part of military operations, with the Pentagon leading the charge in its militarization." Such developments, he warned, threaten to destabilize global security and accelerate the arms race.