US Calls Russian Satellite Maneuver Near Finnish-Run Spacecraft 'Deliberately Reckless'

The United States has publicly accused Russia of endangering a commercial satellite that supplies imagery and intelligence to Ukraine and other countries, describing the act as "deliberately reckless." The accusation came during a United Nations debate on October 21.

Russia rejected the charge, broadly calling the US claims "absurd" and alleging that Washington is pursuing its own "aggressive military space ambitions."

The exchange followed an incident in recent days in which a Russian military satellite, Kosmos-2612, moved "dangerously" close to ICEYE-X36. That spacecraft is registered in the United States and operated by ICEYE, a Finnish company. By some estimates, the Russian satellite came within 200 meters of it, which space officials and amateur satellite watchers described as extremely unusual.

LeoLabs, an aerospace intelligence company, told RFE/RL that the event was not ordinary. "This was not a routine conjunction or 'fly by,'" the company said. "The behavior is consistent with sophisticated rendezvous and proximity operations."

ICEYE-X36 carries radar technology that can collect detailed images of the Earth's surface, including through cloud cover. In January, the Finnish company signed a contract with Ukraine's Defense Ministry to provide intelligence.

Speaking at a meeting in New York of the UN First Committee, which debates arms control and disarmament, Brian Hardesty said Kosmos-2612 "exhibited threatening behavior by intentionally maneuvering dangerously close to a commercial satellite." Hardesty is an adviser to the US Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament. "These behaviors appear consistent with an on-orbit weapons operation," he said, adding that "the decision to conduct these activities was deliberately reckless."

Russia's representative, who could not be immediately identified, did not directly address the allegation. Instead he said: "We call on member states to give the proper response to the aggressive military space ambitions of the United States." He also pointed to remarks made last month by Troy Meink, the secretary of the US Air Force.

Meink, speaking at a conference outside Washington, said the United States has deployed "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action." The statement jolted some policy experts.

Other longtime observers of space policy said it merely made public what had long been apparent. Mallory Stewart, a former top arms control secretary at the US State Department, wrote that "the United States did not suddenly weaponize space by acknowledging that it possesses these capabilities." She added: "An arms race in space has been under way for years."