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Russia, which in 1957 launched Sputnik 1, the first manmade
satellite, into space and in 1961 put the first man in outer
space, has a significant offensive space capability - as do the
United States and China. In 2021, Russia launched an
anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its own satellites.
Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign
ministry's department for non-proliferation and arms control,
told the United Nations that the United States and its allies
were trying to use space to enforce Western dominance.
Vorontsov, reading from notes, said the use of Western
satellites to aid the Ukrainian war effort was "an extremely
dangerous trend".
"Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a
retaliatory strike," Vorontsov told the United Nations First
Committee, adding that the West's use of such satellites to
support Ukraine was "provocative".
"We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian
space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States
and its allies in armed conflicts," Vorontsov was quoted as
saying at the United Nations.
Vorontsov did not mention any specific satellite companies
though Elon Musk said earlier this month that his rocket company
SpaceX would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in
Ukraine, citing the need for "good deeds."
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.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by William Maclean and
Hugh Lawson)
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