(CNN) The US and UK militaries on Thursday accused Russia of conducting a space-based anti-satellite weapons test earlier this month, saying that a Russian satellite released an object capable of targeting a satellite. It's the first time the US has accused Moscow of testing such a weapon. "U.S. Space Command has evidence that Russia conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon," the command said in a statement, saying that on July 15, Russia "injected a new object into orbit from Cosmos 2543," a Russian satellite that has been in orbit since 2019. "Actions of this kind threaten the peaceful use of space and risk causing debris that could pose a threat to satellites and the space systems on which the world depends. We call on Russia to avoid any further such testing," Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth, head of the UK's Space Directorate said in a statement.

Source: CNN July 23, 2020 16:07 UTC