The Russia-Ukraine war is escalating with each day passing. Amid nuclear armageddon fears, a senior Russian diplomat warned that Moscow could target and destroy the Western commercial satellites that are allegedly being used to help Ukraine’s war effort.
Konstantin Vorontsov, a senior Russian foreign ministry official, warned against the “extremely dangerous trend” of Western satellites being used to aid the Ukrainian war effort.
Vorontsov noted that the West’s use of such satellites to support Ukraine was “provocative”. He told the United Nations First Committee: “Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike.”
“We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts,” Vorontsov added.
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The Russian diplomat didn’t mention any particular satellite; so far, there’s no immediate reaction from the United States or commercial satellite providers.
Notably, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk cited the need for “good deeds” when he earlier this month said that his rocket company SpaceX would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine.
In 2021, Russia launched an anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its own satellites, which shows it has a significant offensive space capability – as do the United States and China.
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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 in August, prompting Moscow to accuse the United States of direct involvement in the conflict.
Intelligence analysts scour through satellite photographs in the battle zone taken by commercial US satellite photography firms every day and tweet the coordinates of potential Russian military weaknesses.
(With inputs from agencies)
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