"The document confirms the agressive course by Washington in the space sphere," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Space is seen by the US side as an arena for warfare," it said, calling this a "destructive" approach which "provokes an arms race in space".

"Russia holds the diametrically opposing position, giving priority to using and studying space only for peaceful goals," it said.

Unveiled by the Pentagon on Wednesday, the strategy document was the first since President Donald Trump announced the creation of the new Space Force military arm in December.

The Pentagon strategy stressed that the US would strive to maintain superiority in space, in particular protecting GPS satellites on which the military as well as the emergency services, transport and even financial services depend.

"China and Russia present the greatest strategic threat due to their development, testing and deployment of counterspace capabilities," it said, claiming that Moscow and Beijing are developing tools for jamming and cyberattacks that directly threaten US satellites.