Russia Threatens To Attack US Satellites Helping Ukraine Launch Missiles

Vladimir Ermakov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s nonproliferation and armaments control division, threatened to attack US satellites, helping Ukraine launch missiles.

The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow warned on Monday that Western satellites being used to support the Ukrainian military may become valid targets for Russian strikes.

Vladimir Ermakov, the director of the ministry’s nonproliferation and armaments control division, asserted in a press conference that the US and its allies are assisting Ukraine in ways that go “beyond the harmless use of space technologies.”

“Obviously, the United States and its allies are not fully aware that such activities actually constitute indirect participation in armed conflicts,” Ermakov stated. He cautioned that Western “quasi-civilian infrastructure” in space could “quite logically become the targets of a retaliatory strike.” 

In a $1.2 billion military aid package for Ukraine that was authorized in May, funding for commercial satellite imagery services was also included. Kiev is thought to have exploited images from commercial satellites to fire missiles toward the Russian city of Sevastopol in Crimea last month.

Ermakov stated that the West had exposed Earth’s socioeconomic systems and space activities to “unjustified risks,” and he emphasized the importance of preserving space for peaceful and scientific uses.

IMF chief Gavin Gray told NV Business on Monday that Ukraine needs to collect more taxes since Ukraine will require additional tax revenue to pay for its increased social expenditures after the war ends.

To that purpose, the diplomat declared that Russia has filed draft resolutions to the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament matters, space technologies, and promoting peace.

“We call for a refusal to use civilian space infrastructure for undeclared purposes, including for interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and participation in armed conflicts,” Ermakov said. 

Elon Musk’s Starlink, which has offered communications capabilities to the Ukrainian armed forces throughout the conflict with Russia, is allegedly not the only option Kiev is looking into. The entrepreneur recently disclosed that by forbidding Kiev’s soldiers from utilizing Starlink to guide drones, he had successfully stopped a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea the previous year.

Last month, a Ukrainian general told the publication El Pais that multiple satellite communication initiatives with the US and Ukraine were “underway,” but emphasized that the specifics were “state secrets.”