EU Threatens Russia With Sanctions Over Possible Hostilities in Space – The Moscow Times

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that the bloc could impose sanctions in response to hostile actions in space, citing increasing threats from Russia.

“We are already the targets of hybrid warfare, including in space, with systematic jamming of satellite navigation signals,” Kallas told a conference in Brussels. “There are risks to our satellites, the ground infrastructure and our space industries from kinetic, electronic and high-energy weapons.”

The former Estonian prime minister pointed to Russia’s previous test of an anti-satellite missile and a cyberattack on a space system just before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

She urged the EU’s 27 member states to strengthen their ability to counter threats in space, stressing the need for improved monitoring and attribution of attacks. She also suggested expanding the bloc’s mutual defense clause to include space-based threats.

“On retaliation, we are looking into punitive options,” Kallas said, noting that the EU could impose sanctions similar to those already levied against Russian intelligence agents for cyberattacks.

“We need to think about how best we can apply this to space,” she said, adding that the EU should work closely with the United States in space defense.

“The U.S. is the EU’s most important security partner on the ground. We must be allies in space too,” she said.

Her comments come as the EU considers a more coordinated approach to space security. The bloc’s space commissioner recently proposed a “European Space Shield” to unify member states’ efforts in protecting critical space assets.