Russia is escalating its confrontation with the West in orbit. Its satellites are pursuing spacecraft from companies helping Ukraine — and Starlink has been put on notice.

Russia is escalating its confrontation with the West in orbit. Its satellites are pursuing spacecraft from companies helping Ukraine — and Starlink has been put on notice.

There has long been talk of “hunter” satellites and an intensifying confrontation in space between Russia and the United States. But this week brought an unprecedented escalation in the new “star wars.” On October 18, a Russian inspector satellite came closer than ever to a spacecraft operated by the Finnish-American company ICEYE. The company openly helps Ukraine, giving its armed forces access to satellite images of Russian military facilities, including airfields, naval ports, and oil refineries. Here’s what we know about the exceptionally close encounter, how Moscow is describing it, and why independent experts are alarmed.