Biden says 'no nuclear threat' to U.S. as Russia considers potential space weapon

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sought to reassure the American public Friday that there's "no nuclear threat" to the U.S. even as Russia considers using an anti-satellite capability that officials say would be used in space.

"First of all, there is no nuclear threat to the people of America or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at the moment, No. 1," Biden said in remarks from the White House when asked if he was concerned about Russia's potential anti-satellite capability.

"No. 2, anything they’re doing or they will do relates to satellites in space and damaging those satellites potentially," he added. "No. 3, there’s no evidence they’ve made a decision to go forward with anything in space either."

The question came after Biden spoke about the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for Navalny's passing in a Siberian prison Friday.

Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, briefed top House leaders behind closed doors Thursday on Capitol Hill about the Russian threat. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also confirmed Thursday at the White House briefing that the threat is "related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing."

"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," Kirby told reporters. "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."

In response, Biden has directed a