Why is Russia thinking of launching a 'space war' to destroy Starlink satellites?

According to reports, the Starlink satellite was used to guide the Ukrainian forces launch a guided anti-warship missile which led to the sinking of Moskva, which is a major Russian warship and thus, delivering a big blow to the country in the midst of the war. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, has reportedly ordered the destruction of the Starlink satellite which is floating over the Russian Federation territory, seemingly waging ‘space war’ on the Elon Musk-owned satellite.

Sources said that there are orders to destroy the Starlink satellite constellation located over Russian Federation territory, the special military operation zone and the Black Sea basin in order to ensure the security of all units participating in the special military operation. According to media reports, Medvedev also said that Russia has no intention of militarizing outer space, but it will also prevent other countries and organizations from doing so.

This comes in the midst of the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, which have entered the second month. It was speculated that Elon Musk’s Starling satellite network was the one that assisted the Ukrainian forces to launch a missile that destroyed many Russian weapons and the warship Moskva. Hence, RUSSIA could launch a new "space war" against Elon Musk in retaliation for the sinking of the Moskva. The Kremlin believes the satellites were used to help the Ukrainian army sink the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet.

SpaceX has sent “thousands” of Starlink satellite internet kits to Ukraine, which come with an antenna, a mounting tripod and a Wi-Fi router — shortly after Russia invaded. Ukrainians can use the Starlink kits to connect directly to SpaceX’s network in orbit, with the company having launched about 2,000 satellites to date. The Starlink satellite technology is assisting an elite Ukrainian drone unit in destroying Russian weapons, according to the Times of London.

The Aerorozvidka, which is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces specialising in aerial reconnaissance and drone warfare uses drones equipped with infrared cameras to observe Russian military equipment such as tanks and command vessels at night. Moskva's loss comes as a serious blow to the Russian military as it was no ordinary ship, it was the Russian Black Sea fleet's flagship. Moskva was a floating Air Defence centre with three tiers of potent Air Defence weapons, including 64 long-range S-300F missiles, 40 medium-range OSA-AM missiles, and six AK-630 close-in Weapon systems.

The sinking of this ship has left a big hole in Russian air defence in the Black Sea, exposing all Russian ships operating near Odesa. Moskva was patrolling between Odesa and Crimea on a daily basis, keeping the area clear for Russian Forces to operate. Russia claims that the ship was an ideal target 

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA