Star wars nuke fears: Germany reveals two of Putin's spy satellites are 'chasing' its own military satellites and warns Russia may deploy nuclear weapons in space
The German defence minister has issued a stark warning about the growing threat posed by Moscow's space activities after Russian spy satellites were found to be chasing the country's military satellites.
Speaking at a space conference in Berlin, Boris Pistorius cited mounting concerns over two Russian satellites shadowing Intelsat satellites used by German forces and others.
'Russia and China have expanded their capabilities for warfare in space rapidly over the past years: They can disrupt satellite operations, blind satellites, manipulate or kinetically destroy them,' he told the attendees at the conference.
Pistorius underscored the need for talks on developing offensive capabilities in space as a deterrent, pointing to Russia's use of two of its Luch Olymp satellites to track Intelsat satellites.
The defence minister warned that the Kremlin might use nuclear weapons in space, while promising that Germany would be spending billions on projects to shield its satellites from attacks.
He urged that NATO allies should consider building similar 'offensive capabilities' in orbit.
The country will invest some £31 billion in space projects, he noted, aimed at strengthening military space systems against sabotage.
The launch of the Russian Cosmos 2553 satellite on 5 February 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of testing NATO's resolve after a series of aggressive Russian incursions into the alliance's airspace
The Russian Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-15 cargo spacecraft lifting off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, 23 July 2020
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged world powers to help stop the war in his country or face a dangerous arms race.
'Stopping now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead,' he told the 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
Germany joined a chorus of Western powers publicly warning about a rapidly growing security threat in space.
France’s top military space official, Major General Vincent Chusseau, recently warned of intensifying 'hostile or unfriendly' activity in space, particularly by Vladimir Putin.
He explained that the Ukraine conflict shows 'space is now a fully-fledged operational domain,' telling Reuters that there has been a significant spike in hostile activity since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
France, Europe’s largest government spender in space, publicly accused Moscow in 2018 of attempting to spy on its secret communications by sneaking up on a Franco-Italian military satellite with a prowling spacecraft a year earlier, but has not detailed suspect manoeuvres since then.
The Kremlin says Western powers have unfurled a massive hybrid war against Russia, including propaganda, cyberattacks and intelligence operations.
Moscow says it opposes any weapons in space and has denied assertions by the United States that Russia has launched weapons into Earth's orbit that are capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites.
China, the world’s second-largest government spender on space behind America, is rapidly developing its space capabilities.
'Each day shows dizzying progress – launching ever more satellites for new constellations, developing modes of action that go beyond what we had seen before,' Chusseau said.
The hostility in space unfolds against a backdrop of drone incursions into NATO airspace, putting Europe on edge.
Most recently, Denmark's Aalborg airport was shut down after suspicious overnight drones were spotted violating the country's airspace in what has been described as a 'hybrid attack' by a 'professional actor'.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen didn't immediately ascribe the attack to Russia, but alluded to 'someone who wants to create destabilisation', adding that the nation was in 'an arms race against time' to strengthen its drone-repelling systems.
The incident came just two days after a separate drone incursion shut down the country's main Copenhagen airport in 'the most severe attack on Danish infrastructure so far', according to prime minister Mette Frederiksen.
Danish police this week hinted that Russia may have been behind the incident, which disrupted around 100 flights and left 20,000 passengers stranded.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
