Russia Warns US Against Ukraine Aid, Says Satellites Can Become Targets

According to a senior Russian foreign ministry source, commercial satellites from the US and its allies might become legal targets for Russia if they were participating in the Ukraine conflict.

Russia, which launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, into space in 1957 and put the first man in orbit in 1961, has a considerable offensive space capacity, as do the US and China. Russia deployed an anti-satellite missile in 2021 in order to destroy one of its own satellites.

According to Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy head of Russia’s foreign ministry’s department for non-proliferation and weapons control, the US and its allies are attempting to exploit space to establish Western supremacy.

Reading from notes, Mr Vorontsov described the employment of Western satellites to help the Ukrainian military effort as “an extremely dangerous trend”.

“Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” Mr Vorontsov told the United Nations First Committee, adding that the West’s use of such satellites to support Ukraine was “provocative”.

“We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts,” Mr Vorontsov was quoted as saying at the United Nations.

Mr Vorontsov did not name any specific satellite firms, but Elon Musk earlier this month stated that his rocket company SpaceX will continue to sponsor its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good actions.”

The Ukraine war has killed tens of thousands of people, harmed the post-COVID global economic recovery, and precipitated the most serious confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

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