The non-military objects of space infrastructure used by Washington and Kiev are a potential target for retaliatory strikes from Russia.
This was stated by Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy Head of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, during a round table in the Federation Council "Space militarization as one of the acute problems of international security", timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the US Strategic Defense Initiative program.
Vorontsov explained that we are talking about the use by the United States and its partners of civil infrastructure components in space, including commercial infrastructure, for military purposes to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“We point out that such activities essentially constitute indirect participation in armed conflicts. We indicate that such a quasi-civilian space infrastructure may turn out to be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” he stressed.
Konstantin Vorontsov noted that the use by the United States and its partners of civil, including commercial, infrastructure components in space for military purposes is a trend - it manifested itself during the conflict in Ukraine.
He also added that Washington and its allies risk turning space into a "bridgehead of aggression and war." According to him, concrete outlines of this are already emerging.
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The US and its allies are exposing civilian space assets to potential attack by utilizing them for military purposes, a senior Russian diplomat has warned. This week NATO unveiled a new project that will use satellites, including commercial ones, for its missions.
ReplyDeleteKonstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the non-proliferation and weapons control directorate in the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that the US is weaponizing space and blurring the boundaries between military and civilian infrastructure in orbit.
American use of spacecraft to benefit other nations on the battlefield “is in fact a form of participation in [conflicts] by proxy,” Vorontsov said, adding that “quasi-civilian space infrastructure” in particular could face “retaliation.”
“At the very least, such provocative use of civilian satellites is questionable under the [1967] Outer Space Treaty,” he stated.
Vorontsov’s warning came at a round table discussion in the Russian parliament which focused on the legacy of the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, and how it influences current US military planning.
Ahead of the announcement of NATO’s new space project on Wednesday, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the US-led bloc will use commercial satellites as a military booster.
“This will improve our intelligence and surveillance, and support NATO missions and operations,” Stoltenberg said, adding that this would allow for “better navigation, communication, and early warning of missile launches.”
The NATO chief revealed the project as he reported on what the organization was doing to assist Ukrainian forces against Russia.