Russia Issues Warning Anew To U.S. About Commercial Satellites Involvement In War

Russia has issued another warning to the United States, this time about the latter’s commercial satellites.

The warning comes from a senior Russian foreign ministry official, warning the US and its allies that they could be legitimate targets if they get involved in Moscow’s ongoing war with Ukraine.

Russia has significant offensive space capability after launching Sputnik 1 into space in 1957. However, the United States and China also did the same.

But in 2021, Moscow also launched an anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its satellites, Reuters reported.

Konstantin Vorontsov, the deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry's department for non-proliferation and arms control, reportedly told the United Nations that the US and its allies were trying to use space to enforce Western dominance.

He warned that the use of Western satellites to aid Ukraine was extremely dangerous.

"Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike," Vorontsov stated. "We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts," he added when he spoke to the United Nations.

Curiously, Vorontsov did not mention any specific satellite company. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this month that his company, Starlink, would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands, undermined the post-COVID global economic recovery and triggered the gravest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

US commercial satellites have already provided imagery of Russian troops and weapons formations and mass grave sites left behind in areas they occupied, CNBC reported.

This warning also comes not long after French Russian missile strikes reportedly hit the region of the Ukraine capital, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.

Air raid sirens went off in Kyiv from around midnight and continued into the morning. Authorities urged residents to seek shelter according to local media and officials.