Russia’s representative to the UN in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said the risk of outer space turning into a full-fledged arena of armed confrontation can no longer be viewed as purely hypothetical.

According to Gatilov, military security in space is deteriorating alongside the broader decline in the international political environment. He said several Western countries have already reflected this approach in official policy documents, increasingly treating space as another operational domain alongside traditional theaters of warfare.

The diplomat also pointed to large-scale Western programs aimed at developing weapons intended for use in space.

Gatilov drew particular attention to the US Golden Dome project. He argued that despite its stated defensive purpose, the program also includes capabilities with an offensive dimension. These include plans to deploy interceptors in orbit, establish space-based systems for detecting ballistic missile and hypersonic weapon launches, and develop means to counter missile threats before launch or during the initial phase of flight.

In Gatilov’s assessment, these elements indicate that the United States is seeking to build a substantial military capability in near-Earth orbit.