Russia threatens to shoot down Western satellites used to aid Ukraine
- A senior official said the commercial satellites could be a ‘legitimate target’, saying civilian space infrastructure was being involved in armed conflicts
- He did not mention specific companies, though Elon Musk said earlier this month that SpaceX would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine
A senior Russian government official on Wednesday raised the possibility that Moscow could shoot down commercial Western satellites being used to help Ukraine’s war effort.
If acted on, the threat would inevitably raise fears about spiralling escalation of the eight-month-old conflict and the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and the West.
Konstantin Vorontsov, a senior Russian foreign ministry official, said the use of Western satellites to aid the Ukrainian war effort was “an extremely dangerous trend”.
“Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” he told the United Nations First Committee, adding that the West’s use of such satellites to support Ukraine was “provocative”.
In reversal, Elon Musk to continue funding Starlink in Ukraine
“We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts,” said Vorontsov.
He did not mention any specific satellite companies, though Elon Musk said earlier this month that his rocket company SpaceX would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good deeds”.
Russia has a significant offensive space capability – as do the United States and China. In 2021, Russia launched an anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its own satellites.
Moscow in August accused the United States of direct involvement in the war after Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence, told Britain’s Telegraph newspaper that Kyiv was using US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers based on what he called excellent satellite imagery and real-time information.
Satellite images of the conflict zone captured by commercial US satellite imagery firms are pored over daily on Twitter by open source intelligence experts who highlight the coordinates of potential Russian military vulnerabilities.
The White House said on Thursday that the United States would respond in an “appropriate” way to any Russian attack against US commercial satellites.
“Any attack on US infrastructure will be met with an appropriate response in an appropriate way,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. The United States will “hold Russia accountable for any such attack, should it occur”.
In response to Russian official Vorontsov’s remarks that the West’s use of such satellites was “provocative”, Kirby said “the only thing that’s provocative right now and dangerous is Russia’s war in Ukraine and the manner which they’re prosecuting that war”.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
