Confused and often contradictory press reports circulating in Britain, Germany and Ukraine – among other nations – in the last couple of days raise the spectre of Russia eavesdropping on NATO and European governmental communications traffic. The phrase “a new form of hybrid warfare” is bandied about, with very little attempt to define or detail it. `
The truth is that the threat is real – but that it is far from being a new thing. The use of dedicated satellites appears to add a new layer to the onion, but the Kremlin has been planning to disrupt ‘adversary’ communications as part of its overall offensive defence strategies for decades – while developing and testing the wherewithal to do so. Is this hybrid warfare? Well – yes. Do we need to run panic-stricken through the streets shouting that Vladimir Putin is planning another invasion based on listening to the intimate secrets of national governments? Not so much. But something will have to be done – and soon – to avoid the reverse becoming true.
Two Russian satellites – Luch-1 and Luch-2 – have apparently been manouevring close to European space vehicles over the last three years, making close approaches to at least a dozen (and almost certainly up to twice that number) key geostationary satellites serving Europe, the Middle East and parts of Africa. While the purpose of such manoeuvres is not officially known, it seems obvious there is likely an element of disruptive or other inimical intent: at the very least eavesdropping and perhaps escalating to inserting fake or unauthorized commands that could alter orbits – itself a dangerous thing in an increasingly crowded area – or forcing catastrophic service failure. Close observation of a satellite over time could provide valuable intelligence vis-à-vis ground terminals and communications links, facilitating targeted EW such as jamming or subversion.
Not before time, European officials are taking the threat seriously. For the first time in its history the European Space Agency is actively cooperating with military authorities, operating under a €1.2 billion budget to develop a dual-use security initiative while Germany embarks on a satellite programme destined to consume billions of Euros. Late last year German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius publicly opined that “Satellite networks are the Achilles heel of modern societies. Anyone who attacks them can paralyze entire countries.”
Now, two recent Russian satellites launched in 2025 (Cosmos 2589 and 2590) appear to have similar functionality and missions to the Luch-1 and -2 spacecraft. Some analysts believe this marks a definite move by Moscow to ‘ramp up’ the spaceborne component of its hybrid warfare activities, further testing European resolve and injecting further uncertainty as to the Putin administrations intent.
The time for rhetoric has passed and the window of opportunity for concerted action is threatening to do the same. Europe can no longer afford the luxury of lengthy discussions as to where best to apply its resources, its ingenuity and its collective determination. Further delay risks individual nations ploughing their own furrows, which risks smaller, less well resourced nations being left behind. That negates the entire concept of collective defence. Unfortunately so, too, does the long time dependence on consensus decision making. Governments are elected to manage effective policies in most democratic nations, yet fail signally to do so when confronted by the necessity for hard decisions.
It’s time to grasp the nettle and stand up to Russia’s thinly-masked aggression. Whether that comes from individual nations, a small group or an existing body such as NATO, robust, proactive defence of sovereign assets in space will send a message to Moscow and Beijing alike. Absent such a message, it is only a matter of time before a catastrophe literally blows up in orbit.
Tim Mahon 6 February 2026
