Ukraine is standing up a Space Forces branch of its military to fight Russia in orbit. On 9 November, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a law creating the Space Forces within the Armed Forces, a branch whose core missions will be to destroy Russian satellites and strike Moscow’s new military satellite network, Taras Berezovets of the Territorial Defense Forces Command said on 24 Channel.

The force was created against the backdrop of a slowdown in the speed of Ukraine’s military Starlink terminals after the diesel deal between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was also created amid Russia’s development of its “Rassvet” system, which will coordinate its forces.

What the new branch is for

Berezovets laid out three aims for the branch:

• destroying Russian satellites and striking the “Rassvet” network
• managing Ukraine’s own satellites
• folding space reconnaissance into combat as leading armies do.

Because Ukraine cannot launch spacecraft from its own territory during the war, the satellites would be put into orbit by partners and then pass under the direct command of the Space Forces.

“There are enough ranges in the world: France, the UK, which can provide us with the appropriate capabilities,” he said.

Why a space branch now

Berezovets recalled that Ukraine became the first country in the world to create Unmanned Systems Forces in February 2024, and called a separate space branch the logical next step against Russia, whose own military-space forces have long been in action.

“The decision to create a separate branch, space forces within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is correct, if only because within the enemy’s forces they have long operated, the VKS, Russia’s military-space forces. Let’s not forget that the war is waged, among other things, at the level of satellites that carry out reconnaissance missions,” he stressed.

The threat from Rassvet

Berezovets described “Rassvet” as a Starlink analog that Russia is building for combat, capable of feeding operators data from reconnaissance drones and redirecting strike drones like Shaheds mid-flight.

He said Russia has put 32 craft into orbit this year to pass data and correct drone routes in real time, letting its drones rely less on preset paths and slip past Ukrainian air defense and electronic warfare.

The system is still in testing and glitching. Russia lost contact with three craft in the past month, he said, but warned against underestimating a project Moscow feeds with foreign components bought around sanctions.