FT: European military secrets at risk after possible Russian satellite interception

Russia has likely intercepted communications with key satellites of European countries, putting confidential information at risk, including classified government and military data, Financial Times (FT) reports.

According to European security officials, the likely interceptions by two Russian space vehicles, which have not previously been reported, risk not only compromising sensitive information transmitted by the satellites but could also allow Moscow to manipulate their trajectories or even crash them.

Russian space vehicles have increasingly shadowed European satellites over the past three years, amid rising tensions between the Kremlin and the West following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

For years, Western military and civilian space agencies have monitored the activity of Luch-1 and Luch-2 — two Russian objects repeatedly performing suspicious manoeuvres in orbit.

Both vehicles have approached some of Europe’s most critical geostationary satellites, which operate far above the Earth and provide services across the continent, including the UK, as well as large regions of Africa and the Middle East.

According to orbital data and ground-based telescopic observations, the Luch satellites have lingered near these targets for weeks at a time, particularly in the last three years. Since its launch in 2023, Luch-2 has approached 17 European satellites.

“Both satellites are suspected of ‘doing sigint [signals intelligence] business’,” Major General Michael Traut, head of the German military’s space command, told the Financial Times, referring to their practice of staying close to Western communications satellites.

A senior European intelligence official said the Luch vehicles were almost certainly intended to position themselves within the narrow cone of data beams transmitted from Earth stations to the satellites.

The official also noted that sensitive information — particularly command data for European satellites — is often unencrypted, because many were launched years ago without advanced onboard computers or encryption technology.

These space manoeuvres coincide with Russia intensifying its “hybrid warfare” in Europe, including sabotage efforts such as cutting subsea internet and power cables. Intelligence and military officials increasingly warn that the Kremlin could expand such disruptive activities into space, and is already developing the capability to do so.

By Jeyhun Aghazada