Russia Makes Veiled Threat to Destroy SpaceX's Starlink
Russia has issued a veiled threat to “retaliate” against SpaceX’s satellite internet system Starlink for aiding the Ukrainian military
A Russian representative named Konstantin Vorontsov issued the warning last week at a United Nations working group meeting(Opens in a new window) on reducing space threats.
Vorontsov—who was reportedly(Opens in a new window) a former acting Deputy Director of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Department—didn’t name SpaceX or Starlink by name. But he noted: “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,” according to the unofficial translation(Opens in a new window) of his statement. (The original Russian-language statement can be found here(Opens in a new window).)
Vorontsov then issued his veiled threat by saying: “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.”
“At the very least, this provocative use of civilian satellites is questionable under the Outer Space Treaty(Opens in a new window), which provides for the exclusively peaceful use of outer space, and must be strongly condemned by the international community,” he added.
The statement from Russia seems to have caught the attention of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. On Friday, he tweeted(Opens in a new window) out: “Starlink is meant for peaceful use only.”
SpaceX has supplied over 12,000 Starlink dishes to Ukraine
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