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.
