Russia holds nuclear exercises, missile launches as Putin observes
Russian President Vladimir Putin observed his military holding nuclear exercises and missile launches Wednesday. (Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)
Russian foreign ministry spokesman Konstantin Vorontsov this week threatened to target Western commercial satellites, like Telsa CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink, during a U.N. General Assembly meeting.
Musk’s space exploration program, SpaceX, has donated roughly 20,000 Starlink satellites, for Kyiv’s use since Russia invaded Ukraine, at a cost that is expected to exceed $100 million by the end of the year.
The satellites have proven vital for Ukraine’s troop communication on the ground and along the front lines, but their assistance to Kyiv in its battlefield successes has become a sore point in Russia.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink 4-20 mission, launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sept. 4, 2022. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Vorontsov did not directly mention Starlink but in a Wednesday statement said, "We would like to specifically stress an extremely dangerous trend that goes beyond the harmless use of outer space technologies and has become apparent during the latest developments in Ukraine."
"Namely, the use by the United States and its allies of civilian, including commercial, infrastructure elements in outer space for military purposes," he added, noting that satellite use "constitute[s] indirect participation" in the war. "Quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation."
Frustration has reportedly mounted in Moscow and within Russia’s own ranks over its inability to maintain command and control as Ukrainian forces continue to make battlefield advances.
Ukrainian forces are seen in Izium after Russian Forces' withdrawal from the Izium city, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on Sept. 16, 2022. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Vorontsov argued that the use of commercial satellites to benefit Ukraine in the war violates the Outer Space Treaty and warned that it could start a "full-fledged arms race in outer space."
The spokesman’s comments come as speculation surfaced last week that SpaceX might cut off funding for Ukraine’s satellites if the Department of Defense does not agree to foot the bill.
Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on Feb. 10, 2022. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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However, on Monday, Musk cleared the air and said in a tweet that he had already assured Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov that SpaceX "would not off Starlink even if [the Department of Defense] refused to provide funding" – a scenario which appears likely as Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said last week that commercial decisions were up to individual companies.
"What an individual company may or may not do in any particular corner of the world of course is incumbent on that company to decide and do," he told reporters.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach SpaceX for comment on Russia's threats.