UNITED NATIONS, December 29. /TASS/. Russia believes that low-orbit satellite communication systems, including the US Starlink network, are being used as a tool for undermining the constitutional order of sovereign countries and for coordinating criminal activities, Russian diplomat Dmitry Polyansky said.
"Today, low-orbit satellite communication systems are becoming an instrument of political pressure, meddling into sovereign affairs and undermining constitutional order in violation of international law and the UN Charter. In essence, it is about ‘testing’ a new model of provoking domestic political instability to change undesired governments," he told an informal meeting of UN Security Council members.
The diplomat cited as examples Iran and Venezuela, where thousands of Starlink terminals were imported to coordinate protests and spread disinformation. He added that the system has, in fact, become an element of Ukraine’s military command, providing communication among the troops, fire adjustment and drone guidance, all with the Pentagon’s financial support.
He emphasized that Russia has drafted a UN General Assembly resolution that calls for preventing the misuse of such technologies, including for military goals.
Polyansky held the post of Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN before being appointed Russia’s envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on December 29.