Ukraine has joined the UN complaint over Russian satellite disruption - report
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine and seven other countries have filed a complaint with the UN over satellite communication disruptions suspected to be caused by Russia. The disruptions are affecting television, aviation, and shipping.
Eight European countries, including Ukraine, filed a complaint with the UN on March 17 regarding Russia's ongoing violations of European satellite communications. The countries want Russia to stop the sabotage, NOS reports, UNN writes.
Details
"The complaint, signed by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, France and the Netherlands, will be sent to the highest international body dealing with satellite communications: the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which reports to the UN," the publication writes, citing documents received by Nieuwsuur.
Seventeen other EU member states and the United Kingdom are said to support the complaint.
As the publication notes, the complaint is the next step in the confrontation between European countries and Russia over satellite signal disruptions.
"For a year now, several European countries have been experiencing satellite malfunctions from two major European satellite providers: Eutelsat and SES. Europe uses these satellites for radio and television communications, as well as for navigation in aviation, for example," the publication points out.
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The most notable disruption, it is reported, occurred last spring. Then, suddenly, Russian military propaganda was shown twice on the BabyTV channel in the Netherlands and other European countries. During the same period, propaganda footage appeared several times on Ukrainian TV channels.
Last year, Eutelsat, based in France, and SES from Sweden and Luxembourg investigated the disruptions. "They concluded that they were from Russia. The aim was to disrupt Ukrainian television, which was broadcast via both companies. The disruption to Dutch television turned out to be "collateral damage", the publication writes.
Documents show that Sweden and Luxembourg commissioned a space monitoring station in Lichheim, Germany, to investigate the SES satellite malfunctions once again. The station conducts independent investigations into conflicts between countries over satellite interference.
"The investigation shows that the disruptions originate from the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad," the publication reads.
Now France, it is stated, is also demanding an investigation into the disruptions to its Eutelsat satellite, which led to Russian war propaganda on Dutch television.
In previous letters to the UN, Russia, it is stated, denied involvement in the disruptions. Previous invitations to enter into discussions with the affected countries have not been accepted over the past year. France and Sweden, the countries where the satellite companies are located, are holding face-to-face talks with the Russian delegation at the UN in Geneva for the first time this week, Nieuwsuur sources confirmed. As far as is known, the Netherlands has not.
This can cause disruptions not only on television. It also affects navigation signals, which are crucial for shipping and aviation. "Russia is disrupting these signals to, for example, disable GPS-guided drones in the conflict with Ukraine. But this means that civilian planes and ships in the area do not know where they are. It also confuses the aircraft's navigation system, which warns of collisions with mountains," the publication said.
Since September last year, more than 30,000 flights over the Baltic countries have been affected by disruptions, according to documents from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The countries emphasise the "significant consequences" this has for security, communications and economic activity.
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The question is whether the current negotiations with the Russians can bring about a change in this regard, the publication writes. Patrick Bolder of The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and an expert in military activity in space has little confidence in this: "You only have to look at how Russia operates: even if it is proven that they are behind it, they still do not take responsibility. Russia does not act according to international law, but according to the law of the stronger".
