On Thursday, the White House confirmed that the national security threat noted the day before by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is related to "anti-satellite capabilities being developed by Russia," but tried to calm concerns about the danger it poses to the United States, UNN reports with reference to The Hill.
"This is not an active capability that has been deployed," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday. "And while Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is a concern, there was no immediate threat to anyone's safety.
"We're not talking about weapons that can be used to attack people or to physically destroy people here on Earth," Kirby added.
Kirby's comments came a day after the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Mike Turner of Ohio, caused a storm on Capitol Hill when he issued a cryptic statement announcing that the panel had "information about a serious threat to national security.