Two large Russian satellites were weeks and weeks behind European satellites that are essential to our daily lives
The war in Ukraine has long since spread to Europe, albeit unconventionally. Several European officials have warned of a hybrid war from Russia, recalling attacks on factories on European soil or the incursion of drones into the airspace of European Union countries.
But Russia decided to take this way of waging war further without making it. According to , which cites officials linked to European security, two Russian space vehicles intercepted the communications of at least a dozen satellites considered essential for operations in Europe.
This is a new development in Europe’s relationship with Russia, at a time when several governments are warning that European Defense really needs to be changed, especially because there is a threat of the United States abandoning it.
According to sources from that British newspaper, the disruption of those satellites not only put at risk some sensitive information that is transmitted in that way, but also allowed Moscow to manipulate the trajectory of that same information.
And this trend of surveillance and interference in European satellites has been particularly evident in the last three years, reinforced by the natural separation between Europe and Russia that resulted from the invasion of Ukraine.
But it was even before that that the civil and military authorities that control European space in Space proper began to follow what Russia is doing. Attention has been particularly focused on Luch-1 and Luch-2, two Moscow communications satellites that are in orbit and have repeated suspicious maneuvers.
Both made risky approaches to some of Europe’s most important satellites, in operations that could affect services throughout the continent, but also in Africa and even the Middle East.
According to data collected in orbit and observations made by telescopes from Earth, those two Russian satellites spent several weeks in the last three years looking for European information.
Since 2023 alone, the year in which Luch-2 was launched, 17 European satellites have been approached, including many of those that provide sensitive information, especially because some devices, due to their age, are unable to encrypt the data they transmit.
Also according to the Financial Times, most of the satellites covered are used by Europe for civilian purposes, including television transmission, but also to share sensitive government information and even military communications.
Luch-1 and Luch-2 do not have the capacity, by themselves, to destroy or interfere with the communications of European satellites, but they can collect data and transmit it to Moscow, including information on how communication from these same satellites can be interrupted.
Europe will continue to monitor the activity of Russian satellites, with the possible destruction of European machinery being on the table if this is the last scenario available to avoid data collection by Russia.
