Russia might shoot down commercial satellites used to help Ukraine, says Russian Foreign Ministry
Russia threatens civilian satellite Internet system and satellite used to help Ukraine’s military (Photo:mid.ru/Facebook)
Russia may consider Western commercial satellites used to help Ukraine as "legitimate targets,” a Russian foreign ministry official has said at the United Nations, Kremlin news agency TASS reported on Oct. 26.
Russian Foreign Ministry representative Konstantin Vorontsov made the threat against Western satellites at a meeting of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, which deals with disarmament and international security issues.
According to Vorontsov, the use of civilian infrastructure components in space by the United States and other Western countries in armed conflicts, "which was especially evident during the events in Ukraine," is a "dangerous trend."
The Russian official may have been referring to the use by Ukraine of the Starlink satellite Internet provision system, a commercial project by U.S. company SpaceX that Ukraine has used for military communications.
The Russian FM rep argues that the actions of the West allegedly provoke "unjustified risks for peaceful activities in space and numerous socio-economic processes on earth, on which the well-being of people depends, primarily in developing countries."
"Quasi-civilian infrastructure can become a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike," Vorontsov threatened.
Earlier, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, the Serhiy Prytula Foundation signed an agreement with ICEYE in August to provide the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine with one of its satellites and access to the entire constellation of its spacecraft.
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