Russia Threatens To Target UK Satellites

Russia has sent a warning to the United States and its allies, which includes the UK regarding targets in space. Russian Foreign Ministry senior official Konstantin Vorontsov told the UN that Russia could target commercial satellites if these countries were to involve themselves in the war in Ukraine. 

The West trying to use space to enforce dominance 

Konstantin Vorontsov is the deputy director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control in Russia. On 26th October, he told the United Nations that the United States and its allies were attempting to utilise space to impose Western dominance. 

Reading from notes, Vorontsov called the use of satellites by the West to help Ukraine was “an extremely dangerous trend”.

He has warned Britain and all other countries that their interference in the war in Ukraine will have consequences. Vorontsov said the following:

“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.”

Russia has long held power in space

Russia has a powerful offensive space capability, as do China and the United States. In 2021, Russia destroyed one of its own satellites by launching an anti-satellite missile.

The pursuit of anti-satellite technologies

John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House, stated that publicly available data shows that the Kremlin has been attempting to pursue anti-satellite technologies.

During a briefing, Kirby told reporters that if Russia were to target United States infrastructure, they would be met with a response. However, he did not specify what the response would be. 

Commercial satellites play a role in providing Ukraine and its partners with imagery that can be released to the public regarding the Kremlin’s actions during its invasion of Ukraine. Firms such as Finland’s ICEYE have sold to Ukraine direct access to Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery, as Orbital Today reported previously.