Russia has formally notified international regulators that it will treat European satellites suspected of aiding Ukraine’s military as legitimate targets for signal jamming, the Space Intel Report website wrote Thursday.
In a document submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Russia's Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Ministry said it would no longer acknowledge complaints from European governments whose satellites serve both civilian and military purposes.
Moscow argued that countries supporting Ukraine had forfeited the right to protest signal interference.
Russia also said in the document that it would avoid disrupting non-military satellite applications but will act against satellite use that aids the Ukrainian military.
The ITU’s Radio Regulations Board, which oversees global compliance with radio communication rules, received the notification.
The move formalizes a stance Russia has hinted at for months amid rising concerns about its interference with navigation and communications satellites.
European governments have repeatedly accused Moscow of jamming GPS and satellite signals in recent years.
France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg and Ukraine filed complaints in 2024 after Russian interference reportedly disrupted air traffic control systems and hijacked television broadcasts including children’s programming, replacing them with war propaganda.
Earlier this month, the International Civil Aviation Organization warned that Russian GPS jamming near the Baltic Sea posed a “serious threat” to civilian aviation.
At the United Nations in 2022, Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, warned that commercial space infrastructure used for military purposes could become a “legitimate target.”
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