Russia’s Aerospace Forces have the technical capability to destroy reconnaissance satellites that provide intelligence to Ukrainian troops, according to military expert Andrey Kolesnik. He argued that any spacecraft supporting Ukrainian military operations could be considered a legitimate military target.

Kolesnik explained that a satellite gathering information for the Ukrainian Armed Forces could potentially be targeted by Russian anti-satellite systems. He maintained that such an operation would be justified if the spacecraft were actively assisting Ukraine in its military operations against Russia.

However, the analyst stressed that the final decision to deploy anti-satellite weapons rests with Russia’s military command. The determining factor would be the severity of the threat posed by the reconnaissance satellite to the country’s defense capabilities.

If the spacecraft’s activities presented a serious security risk, military commanders could consider destroying it, Kolesnik said.

The expert emphasized that eliminating hostile reconnaissance capabilities would prevent the monitoring of Russian troop movements both inside the country and beyond its borders. He reiterated that Russia possesses the means to counter such threats even in orbit if its national interests are endangered.

His comments follow a report by the American publication The War Zone concerning the movements of Russia’s Kosmos-2612 military satellite.

According to the outlet, Kosmos-2612 approached the Western ICEYE-X36 radar satellite, which reportedly collects intelligence for Ukraine. The distance between the two spacecraft was said to have narrowed to several hundred meters.

The War Zone suggested that the close orbital encounter could form part of a broader Russian strategy involving maneuvers near foreign satellites ahead of a potential anti-satellite attack.

The reported maneuver has not been presented as confirmation that Russia intends to destroy ICEYE-X36, while Kolesnik’s assessment concerns Moscow’s potential military capabilities rather than an announced operation.