We can target your commercial satellite

NEW YORK – A senior Russian foreign ministry official warned that Western commercial satellites could become legitimate targets for Moscow if they were involved in the war in Ukraine.

The Deputy Director of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, Konstantin Vorontsov, told the United Nations that the use of Western satellites to assist Ukraine’s war effort is a very dangerous trend.

“Quasi-civil infrastructure can be a legitimate target for retaliatory attacks,” Vorontsov told the United Nations First Committee. Radio Europe freeThursday (10/27/2022).

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He added 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 ones, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts,” Vorontsov said from the committee, without naming specific satellite companies.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk earlier this month said his rocket company SpaceX would continue to finance the Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good deeds.”

Musk activated Starlink, a network of more than 2,000 satellites in orbit above the Earth and thousands of terminals on the ground, in late February after internet services were cut off due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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The United Nations First Committee is one of the six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly. This committee deals with disarmament and international security issues. The First Committee meets every year in October for a 4-5 week session.

Russia has significant offensive space capabilities, as do the United States and China.

Last year, Russia launched an anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its decommissioned satellites.

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(ian)