The Foreign Ministry warned of the possibility of a retaliatory strike against objects used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in space

Civilian infrastructure in space used by the US and its allies during the conflict in Ukraine for military purposes could become a legitimate target for retaliation. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry Konstantin Vorontsov, transmits Interfax.

“We are talking about the use by the United States and its allies of civil infrastructure components in space, in the sense of commercial infrastructure, for military purposes … Such a “quasi-civilian” space infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” he said.

Going beyond the “harmless use” of the use of civilian satellites is at odds with the outer space treaty, which provides for the exclusively peaceful use of such objects, Vorontsov added.

Earlier, the head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, said that the Starlink satellite system is used to provide communications in Ukraine, but it should not cause the conflict to escalate.

Thus, Musk responded to the post of former astronaut Scott Kelly with a call to restore the full functionality of the satellites. In another tweet, the businessman emphasized that Starlink terminals, being a commercial product, are intended for private use and not for military purposes. Musk added that he tries to “do the right thing,” while doing the right thing is an “extremely complex moral issue,” he said.

February 9 SpaceX restricted use of the Starlink satellite communication system to control Ukrainian drones. The company’s president, Gwynn Shotwell, said that the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian military “as a weapon” was not part of the terms of the agreement.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. After that, Western countries began to provide military assistance to Ukraine and imposed large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation. In particular, since the beginning of hostilities, the United States has already provided Ukraine with weapons worth about $27.2 billion.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv. In particular, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia. And Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the supply of long-range weapons would only expand the geography of the special operation.