Mysterious Russian Cosmos 2553 satellite carries 'dummy warhead'

Kremlin 's mysterious Cosmos 2553 satellite 'is fitted with dummy warhead' in 'forerunner to nuke that could wipe out rival spacecraft and cause chaos on Earth ' Satellites underpin everything from communications and banking systems to banking systems - may already be held by Moscow .

Russia 's Defence Ministry issued a statement claiming its new sputnik was a 'technological spacecraft equipped with newly developed onboard instruments and systems for testing them'.

Russia vetoed a UN resolution calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in space.

It would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty.

Russia 's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the resolution as 'absolutely absurd and politicised' Meanwhile, China is increasing its space capabilities at an alarming rate.

In 2022 it conducted an apparently successful test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle and has developed an array of anti-satellite weaponry.

China has also developed its own satellites capable of disabling Western orbital tech.

Direct ascent anti-satellite systems (DA-ASATs) are missiles launched from the ground that lock on to a satellite and meet it in orbit.

Russia demonstrated one of its ASATs when it destroyed a defunct 1980s-era Cosmos 1408 satellite in 2021 .

China , India , and the US have all tested ASAT missiles on their own decommissioned satellites.