Kremlin Intimates Retaliation

Cognizant of the Ukrainian military’s tactical utilization of SpaceX’s Starlink communication and data satellite network, Russia has artfully alluded to retaliation.  

Speaking at a United Nations event, Russian representative Konstantin Vorontsov—a PhD, Professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and former acting Deputy Director of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Department—stated: “We would like to underline an extremely dangerous trend that goes beyond the harmless use of outer space technologies and has become apparent during the events in Ukraine. Namely, the use by the United States and its allies of the elements of civilian, including commercial, infrastructure in outer space for military purposes.”

Refraining from outright mention of SpaceX or Starlink, Vorontsov added: “It seems like our colleagues do not realize that such actions in fact constitute indirect involvement in military conflicts. Quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation.”

Concluding his contentious polemic, Dr. Vorontsov declared: “At the very least, this provocative use of civilian satellites is questionable under the Outer Space Treaty, which provides for the exclusively peaceful use of outer space, and must be strongly condemned by the international community.”

Vorontsov’s statement and its cautionary tenor prompted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to tweet: “Starlink is meant for peaceful use only.”

To date, SpaceX has supplied over 12,000 Starlink dishes to Ukraine with the implicit purpose of sustaining Internet access across the war-torn nation during its ongoing conflict with Russia. The system has consistently delivered high-speed broadband connectivity to civilian/noncombatant users such as hospitals, businesses, and private residences.

Notwithstanding SpaceX’s intentions and Mr. Musk’s assertions to the contrary, it is widely and verifiably known and the Ukrainian military regularly utilizes Starlink to send encrypted messages and to control Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) with which it has attacked Russian forces.

Speaking to a Western European journalist in April 2022, a Ukrainian soldier remarked: “I want to say one thing: Elon Musk’s Starlink is what changed the war in Ukraine’s favor.”

The degree of bite behind Russia’s adumbrated bark remains unclear. That the Kremlin possesses the technology to carry-out orbital attacks was convincingly demonstrated during the November 2021 test of a Russian anti-satellite missile that handily dispatched one of the country’s own defunct satellites. The Biden administration noisily condemned the test, alleging debris resultant of the exercise endangered the space installations and operations of the broader international community. Since the Russian missile test, several satellites—including SpaceX’s—have had to alter course to avoid orbital debris.

The Kremlin’s capacity for extra-atmospheric belligerence was further connoted by cyberattacks carried out against the satellites of Viasat, an American provider of orbital Internet services.

China, too, has voiced concerns over Starlink. In April 2022, Chinese defense industry researchers urged Beijing to develop means by which to destroy Starlink’s satellite constellation entirely.

FMI: www.starlink.com