Russian official hints Starlink satellites could become targets in war over Ukraine

Russian foreign ministry official speaks of ‘dangerous tendency’ of Western commercial space assets becoming involved in war in Ukraine

(AFP via Getty Images)

At least one Russian official has hinted that commercial satellites used to aid Ukraine in the latter’s fight against Russia’s invasion could be targeted for retaliation.

At a Wednesday meeting of the United Nations First Committee, which discusses disarmament and international security issues, Russian deputy director for nonproliferation and arms control at the Russian Foreign Ministry Konstantin Vorontsov said the use of commercial satellites in the war in Ukraine was an “extremely dangerous tendency.”

”The West’s actions unreasonably jeopardize the stability of the civil space activities,” he said, according to reporting by Russian news agency Tass. “Quasi-civil infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliation strike.”

Mr Vorontsov reportedly did not name names, but SpaceX began providing the company’s Starlink satellite internet services to Ukraine in February, a service that Ukrainian officials have said is crucial to their success in combating the Russian military.

Russia demonstrated its ability to strike and destroy satellites in November of last year, when its military used an anti-satellite missile, or Asat, to destroy a Cosmos 1408, a defunct, Soviet-era spy satellite. The debris from the destroyed satellite are still in orbit, and the International Space Station dodged a piece of the lingering debris as recently as Monday 24 October.

Because of the possibility of lingering space debris, the Russian Asat test drew widespread condemnation. The US, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea, New Zealand, the UK, and, most recently, Australia, have all announced they will refrain from testing Asat weapons going forward.

The use of Asats to destroy satellites in warfare would produce much more debris than a single test, and could be disastrous for human space activities. Once a sufficient amount of debris are in orbit, they could kick off a cascading chain reaction known as the Kessler Syndrome, where debris destroy satellites or spacecraft, creating more debris, until the orbital lanes are so clogged nothing can be launched safely into space.