Commercial satellites have changed the dynamics of how war crimes are being committed and recorded
By Kiran N. Kumar
Armed with its significant offensive space capability, Russia has warned to target commercial satellites, especially Starlink satellites of Elon Musk, alleging that they are military in nature. Moscow is now unfolding an inevitable new dimension to the Ukraine war.
Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms control, told the United Nations that the United States and its allies were trying to use space to aid the Ukrainian war effort.
“Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” Vorontsov told the UN First Committee and termed it as “provocative.”
Read: Ukraine crisis tops agenda at Biden-Modi virtual meet (April 12, 2022)
Though he did not mention it directly, Elon Musk’s space agency SpaceX is providing its Starlink free internet service in Ukraine, while numerous satellite firms have lined up commercial and scientific satellites providing real-time capture of the war in Ukraine.
This is the first time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that the Ukrainian conflict has divided the Western allies on one side and Russia, along with China, on the other. But technology-wise, its potential to unleash a new satellite war cannot be ruled out.
In the past, warfare in space has been confined to mutual jamming of satellite communications, laser dazzling of photo-snapping satellites, hacking and selectively blocking mobile data streaming.
Now, the widespread availability of commercial satellites — that can collect images day or night on how a war is being waged — has changed the dynamics of how war crimes are being committed and recorded.
The satellite technology is not new and was used occasionally to collect evidence focusing on Chinese human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslims or in Sudan to highlight genocide or other human catastrophes. For the first time, the war in Ukraine has brought under radar what the satellite war can bring to the table.
“We’re able to know in real-time,†said Ritwik Gupta, a research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California who is assisting US European Command in Germany.
“You want to see human rights violations in Bucha? We can get Maxar (Technologies) tasked and get imagery over that same exact region in a couple of minutes.â€
Another technology firm, HawkEye 360, is operating satellites that can track radio frequencies, such as those emitted from military units, opening another possible angle of investigation to pinpoint units or individuals responsible for atrocities.
Read: Indian American lawmakers condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine (February 25, 2022)
Biden’s call to satellite firms
Responding to President Joe Biden’s call in April after Bucha killings, to collect more satellite evidence that could implicate Russian military leaders, several technology companies have joined the hunt to find aerial imagery of Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
Several satellites have been cued to pinpoint mass graves, bombed-out hospitals and shattered schools, providing real-time data to investigators from the International Criminal Court and United Nations. When the “horrifying images†started piling up, UN Secretary General António Guterres called for an independent investigation.
Based on enormous evidence provided by these satellite imagery companies, the international war crimes investigators are busy finding the intentional targeting of civilians by Russian troops, as per the order of the International Criminal Court.
“There is truth in imagery,†said Steve Butow, director of the space portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley outpost. “We know where the hospitals, schools and other things are and the analytics are showing these are exactly the things being targeted.â€
Read: Russia warns U.S. satellites could be targets for “retaliation” (October 28, 2022)
What was essentially the government purview in the past conflicts has become a public and open source now, available in real-time. The combination of the ground evidence and satellite imagery and other digital sources of evidence will be collected for any prosecution in the future.
Though prosecution may take place in the future, evidence is being collected now itself that is worrying the Russian leaders. No wonder, Russia has turned its ire on the commercial satellite companies and is ready to target them.
COLUMN: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Not producing the New World Order Putin wanted (March 23, 2022)
Read: Ami Bera asks India not to buy discounted Russian oil (March 17, 2022)
Read: Indian American Daleep Singh leads US sanctions against Russia (February 23, 2022)