THE RUSSIAN government has indirectly warned to shoot down Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites.
Russia has threatened to shoot down commercial Western satellites that are aiding Ukraine in the war.
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Konstantin Vorontsov, a senior Russian foreign ministry official, called the use of Western satellites to help Ukraine “an extremely dangerous trend”.
“Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” he said to the United Nations First Committee.
He aslo claimed that the West’s use of commercial satellites to aid 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,” said Vorontsov.
Though he did not name any specific satellite companies, it would seemingly include Elon Musk’s Starlink operation.
Musk has sent about 20,000 Starlink satellite units to aid Ukraine with internet service, according to SpaceX.
Earlier this month, the billionaire asked the Pentagon for aid in funding the operation, saying it has cost SpaceX around $80 million.
However, Musk agreed to keep funding the operation for free amid online backlash, citing the need for “good deeds”.
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“The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free,” Musk tweeted.
Russia has both the capability and experience to attempt an offensive space move.
In 2021, the nation launched an anti-satellite missile and successfully destroyed one of its own satellites.
On Thursday, the White House said it would respond “appropriately” to any Russian attack against US commercial satellites.
“Any attack on US infrastructure will be met with an appropriate response in an appropriate way,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The United States will “hold Russia accountable for any such attack, should it occur,” he added.
