🛰🇺🇸 Kyiv asks the US to stop Russia’s “Rasswet”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Donald Trump to take action against Russia’s “Rasswet” low-Earth-orbit satellite system. Kyiv is pushing for sanctions against Russian and Chinese companies involved in the project and fears that the system will give Russia new capabilities to control drones and transmit data. Ukraine is also asking for expanded options for using Starlink for its operations.

“Rasswet” itself is Russia’s counterpart to Starlink, being developed by “Bureau 1440.” In March, the first 16 production units were placed into orbit; a second batch launch took place in July, and by August, 32 satellites of the planned constellation were already in orbit. The satellites use 5G-NTN architecture and laser-based inter-satellite communication.

In response, Dmitry Medvedev said that by a “blockade” of the satellite constellation, he effectively understood its destruction, and that such a development would lead to a “full-scale space war.” He explicitly linked retaliatory measures to the American Starlink: “Your Starlink low-orbit satellites will fall like toys from a withered Christmas tree.”

So far, Starlink has given Ukraine a significant advantage in satellite communications. The commissioning of a Russian counterpart changes the situation—and Kyiv is now trying to secure American sanctions already during the system’s development phase. Moscow, for its part, is warning that if the fight against satellite constellations moves from the level of sanctions to the physical level, Starlink’s inviolability will end as well.


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