Russia Says Western, Satellites Could Be Considered, Legitimate Targets .
On October 16, a Russian Foreign Ministry official warned that Russia could shoot down Western commercial satellites used to aid Ukraine's war efforts.
According to 'Newsweek', Russian state news agency Tass originally reported that these Western satellites could be considered legitimate targets for retaliatory strikes.
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Vladimir Ermakov, head of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, reportedly didn't detail which companies' satellites would be targeted.
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'Newsweek' reports that Elon Musk's SpaceX provided Starlink satellites to provide Ukraine with internet service.
'The Wall Street Journal' reported that other American satellite operators including Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs PBC are contracted by U.S. national-security agencies.
We have consistently drawn the attention of the international community to this dangerous trend, which goes beyond the harmless use of space technology, clearly manifested during the events in Ukraine, Vladimir Ermakov, Head of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, via 'Newsweek'.
Obviously, the United States and its allies are not fully aware that such activities actually constitute indirect participation in armed conflicts, Vladimir Ermakov, Head of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, via 'Newsweek'.
'Newsweek' reports that the statement by Ermakov echoes similar threats made by deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, Konstantin Vorontsov.
In October of 2022, Vorontsov said that "commercial, infrastructure elements in outer space for military purposes" by the West constitutes an "extremely dangerous trend.".
These States do not realize that such actions in fact constitute indirect participation in military conflicts.
Quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation, Vladimir Ermakov, Head of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, via 'Newsweek'
