Russia Moves Military Satellite Close to Commercial Satellite Providing Intelligence to Ukraine

The Russian military satellite Cosmos 2612 came within 1.6 kilometers of a commercial radar satellite operated by Finland’s ICEYE, whose data provides intelligence to Ukrainian forces. The CSIS, which reported the maneuver five days earlier based on commercial space-tracking data, warned that the Russian satellite could threaten the spacecraft and called for a unified Western response. The center noted that Cosmos-series satellites had approached the same satellite in May, with Cosmos 2609 coming within 2.5 kilometers. In 2022, Russian Foreign Ministry official Konstantin Vorontsov warned that quasi-civilian infrastructure could become a legitimate target for retaliation.