White House addresses Russian anti-satellite capability after warning from House intel chief about 'serious national security threat'

National security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters at the White House press briefing on Thursday that Russia is developing anti-satellite capability, but the weapon is not active and has not been deployed. Kirby's remarks came a day after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner released a statement requesting President Biden to declassify information regarding a "serious national security threat."

Video Transcript

JOHN KIRBY: I am limited by how much I can share about the specific nature of the threat. I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing. I want to be clear about a couple of things right off the bat.

First, this is not an active capability that's been deployed. And though Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety. We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth.

That said, we've been closely monitoring this Russian activity. And we will continue to take it very seriously. President Biden has been kept fully informed and regularly informed by his national security team, including today.

He has directed a series of initial actions, including additional briefings to congressional leaders, direct diplomatic engagement with Russia with our allies and our partners as well and with other countries around the world who have interests at stake. The intelligence community has serious concerns about a broad declassification of this intelligence.

They also assess that starting with private engagement rather than immediately publicizing the intelligence could be a much more effective approach. We agree with that, which is consistent, of course, with the manner in which we have conducted downgrades of information in the past. This administration has put a lot of focus on doing that in a strategic way, a deliberate way and in particular, when it comes to Russia.

- Can you address whether the United States has the capability to defend against the Russian anti-satellite system that they're developing?

JOHN KIRBY: I would tell you that this is still a development-- I'm sorry. It's still a capability they're developing. We are still analyzing the information that's available to that.

I would not speak definitively about our strategic deterrent capabilities one way or the other. We just-- we don't talk about that publicly. But we're taking this potential threat very, very seriously.

And we are examining what the best next steps are and what our options might be. I want to reiterate, it is not an active capability, and it has not yet been deployed.