Commercial satellites used by the United States to assist Ukraine in its war against Russia are legitimate targets for attacks, a Russian diplomatsaid Wednesday.Private assets like Elon Musks Starlink satelliteinternet constellation, as well as Maxar and Planet Labs earth observation satellites, have proven critical in keeping Ukrainians online and piercing the fog of war.Konstantin Vorontsov, the deputy chief of the Russian Foreign Ministrys arms control and nonproliferation department, complained to the UN that the use of such satellites in conflicts marked an extremely dangerous trend.Quasi-civilian infrastructure could be a legitimate target for retaliation, the state-run TASS news agency quoted Vorontsov as saying.In asimilarly worded warning in September, Vorontsov stressed that non-military satellite uses constitute indirect involvement in military conflicts and should be strongly condemned by the international community.Western actions create unnecessary risk for the sustainability of peaceful space activities, Vorontsov said.The Russian delegation at the UNs panel on disarmament urged against anarms race in space.
Last November, the Russian militarytested an anti-satellite weapon in outer space, which the United States condemned as a dangerous and irresponsible space missile strike.At the UN panel, Vorontsovaccused Ukraines Western allies of helping Kyiv develop a so-called dirty bomb.
Western powers dismiss Moscows unfoundeddirty bomb claims and call them a possible pretext for its own false-flag attack in Ukraine.