Russia admitted it destroyed one of its satellites during a missile test but denied the US accusations of endangering the International Space Station.
US officials accused Russia of an irresponsible strike that created a cloud of debris, forcing the ICC crew to take evasive action.
Russia's defence ministry said it had successfully destroyed one of the satellites that had been in the orbit since 1982.
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday admitted to destroying one of its satellites during a missile test, but rejected US accusations that it had endangered the International Space Station.
US officials on Monday accused Russia of a "dangerous and irresponsible" strike on a satellite that had created a cloud of debris and forced the ISS crew to take evasive action.
The move reignited concerns about an escalating arms race in space, encompassing everything from laser weapons to satellites capable of shunting others out of orbit.
The Russian defence ministry said it had "successfully conducted a test, as a result of which the Russian spacecraft 'Tselina-D', which had been in orbit since 1982, was destroyed."
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu later said the launch used a "promising" system that "accurately" struck its target.
"The fragments that formed do not pose any threat to space activity," he added, as quoted by Russian news agencies.
US officials said they were not informed in advance of the anti-satellite missile test -- only the fourth ever to hit a spacecraft from the ground...
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