Defense Ministry wants to restrict satellite imagery over Ukraine

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is preparing a mechanism to limit Russia’s space reconnaissance capabilities.

According to the Ministry of Defense, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than a hundred “coincidences” have been recorded, when a satellite was sent to take pictures of a specific area, and after a while, Russia shelled the place. After that, the satellite was sent back to the location to record the extent of the shelling.

Such cases may be evidence that Russia is buying satellite images of objects on the territory of Ukraine through intermediary companies.

“Almost every day Russia strikes at the territory of Ukraine. Russia uses satellite data to search for targets and to verify the results of strikes. Western sanctions are in effect, and Russia’s space intelligence capabilities are declining. Our experts assume that because of this, the enemy is looking for additional opportunities and is likely to buy satellite images through third-party companies, in particular, Western ones,” said Kateryna Chernogorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization.

According to her, one solution could be to limit satellite imagery over Ukraine.

“We are ready to propose a mechanism that will not affect the development of the market and will be a solution to this situation,” Chernogorenko said.

The Ministry of Defense is working on international regulatory mechanisms and will propose concrete steps to counteract the use of space intelligence in the war against Ukraine.

We would like to remind you that satellite imagery is also actively used by agricultural producers. Satellites can perform numerous monitoring tasks, including collecting meteorological data and forecasting the weather in the fields, as well as analyzing the condition of crops.