Satellite images play an important role in the Ukraine war – because the Ukrainians have access to US data from space, they always gain advantages. Russia sees this as a provocation. The State Department issued a threat.
Russia is threatening to attack commercial US satellites if they continue to be used to transmit data to Kyiv in the Ukraine war. Konstantin Vorontsov, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry at the United Nations, complained that the US is using civilian satellites for military conflicts as a dangerous trend, according to a TASS report. “The quasi-civilian infrastructure could become a legitimate target for a counterattack,” Vorontsov warned. The West is thus putting civil space travel, but also many social and economic projects on earth, at risk.
In the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, satellite images play an important role in reconnaissance. A number of Western countries are making data available to Kyiv for its defence. Since Russia’s satellite network, for its part, is less dense, Ukraine has a partial information advantage here. Vorontsov accused the US and its allies of using space to enforce Western dominance. The use of satellites to support the Ukrainian armed forces is an “extremely dangerous trend” and a “provocation,” he said.
Vorontsov did not mention any specific satellite companies. Tesla boss Elon Musk said in early October that his rocket company SpaceX would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good deeds”. The Ukrainian army is said to be using Starlink’s services. Musk has also announced that he will be activating his Starlink satellite broadband service to people in Iran.
Russia is quite capable of hitting satellites in space. In November last year, Russia shot down one of its own discarded satellites with a laser weapon, causing international outrage. The US criticized the action as “ruthless” saber-rattling. At the time, Russia dismissed the allegations as hypocrisy. The United States itself was running an arms race in space, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the time. The Americans are also capable of destroying satellites, as are the Chinese.
