The war in Ukraine is increasingly visibly extending beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. At least four Russian satellites have dangerously approached a commercial radar surveillance system in space, which provides crucial intelligence data to the Ukrainian army. This maneuver, extremely unusual and technologically costly, raises global alarm signals about Moscow’s true intentions.
According to a report published by Greg Gillinger, former space intelligence officer in the US Air Force, the Kremlin’s actions could be part of a larger set of tactical maneuvers orchestrated to leave Kiev “blind” in space. The ultimate goal? Preparing the ground to target – through kinetic or non-kinetic means (cyber attacks or jamming) – the ICEYE-X36 reconnaissance satellite.
Operation “Kosmos”: How Moscow tracks ground targets
Open-source data (OSINT) indicates a coordinated movement: a series of Russian satellites, officially registered under the names from Kosmos 2610 to Kosmos 2613, have abruptly altered their orbits to perfectly align with the trajectory of ICEYE-X36.
In military terms, this means that Russian devices are now positioned in such a way as to regularly pass through the immediate vicinity of the earth imaging satellite, whose data is used daily by Kiev to monitor the movements of Russian troops on the front.
The changes in orbital position were reported within an analysis conducted for Integrity ISR, a private American company specialized in defense and intelligence services. Gillinger did not hesitate to label this operation as downright “alarming”.
What is SAR technology and why is Russia afraid of it?
The targeted satellite, ICEYE-X36, belongs to the Finnish operator ICEYE, a company co-founded by the Polish entrepreneur Rafał Modrzewski, which delivers high-precision reconnaissance data to the USA, European nations and, implicitly, Ukraine.
ICEYE currently manages the largest constellation of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites in the world. The importance of this technology during wartime is crucial. Unlike standard optical satellites, SAR systems use radio waves, not light waves. They can capture extremely clear images of the ground at any hour of the day or night, penetrating through the cloud ceiling, fog, or smoke.
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