Overview
- Dmitri Medvedev posted on Telegram that efforts to block Russia’s Rasswet network could lead to a large‑scale war in space and that U.S. Starlink satellites could be put at risk.
- Ukraine has formally asked the International Telecommunication Union to exclude its territory from Rasswet coverage and President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged U.S. sanctions against competing systems.
- Russia has already launched Rasswet satellites into roughly 800‑kilometre low Earth orbit and Kremlin officials say the service will be prepared for operation next year.
- Experts and officials say the row is sensitive because satellite internet systems can serve both civilian users and military communications, making regulatory limits a national security issue.
- So far there have been no reported attacks on satellites; the immediate watch items are diplomatic rulings at the ITU, Western responses to Ukraine’s appeal, and public Russian rhetoric that could raise the risk of escalation.