Washington accused Moscow at the United Nations on Wednesday of deliberately moving a Russian military satellite dangerously close to a commercial spacecraft registered in the United States and believed to serve Ukraine. American officials vowed to defend U.S. interests in space.

Cosmos 2612 spent more than two weeks maneuvering toward ICEYE-X36, a radar satellite operated by the American arm of Finnish company ICEYE. The company supplies imagery to Ukraine’s military through some of its spacecraft, although it has not confirmed which satellites serve Kyiv.

The Russian satellite shadowed ICEYE-X36 from as close as a third of a mile through the weekend of Oct. 17. U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas G. DiNanno called the behavior “threatening.”

DiNanno said Russia had been “intentionally maneuvering dangerously close to a commercial satellite, behaviors consistent with on-orbit weapons operations.” That accusation placed the unusually close encounter squarely before the United Nations.

Space historian and former NASA astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said he believed the episode marked the first rendezvous in low Earth orbit between two active satellites without the approval of one owner.

The encounter came weeks after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink publicly confirmed that the United States has weapons in orbit. It also followed the Space Force’s selection of two companies to build satellites capable of conducting reconnaissance on other spacecraft.

Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, described the operation as part of a broader Russian intimidation campaign against Europe and the United States.

Swope said Russian President Vladimir Putin can “poke the West in the eye and watch the West do nothing.” During a CSIS panel Wednesday, he added, “They prove a point – the West can’t stop me.”

Greg Gillinger, senior vice president of strategy and development at Virginia based Integrity ISR, warned that growing military reliance on commercial systems creates openings for adversaries. Satellites carrying imagery and connectivity can become critical vulnerabilities when access is disrupted or threatened.

Tracking firm LeoLabs said Cosmos 2612 moved on Oct. 15 and 16 from more than 200 miles behind ICEYE-X36 to roughly 3 miles away. It then moved closer and held its position through the weekend.

Both satellites travel at roughly 4 miles, or 7 kilometers, per second. Gillinger compared bringing two objects within a kilometer or several hundred meters to aircraft flying in an exceptionally tight formation.

“Russia didn’t accidentally get within a kilometer of X36,” Gillinger said. “It is an indication of intent that they’re sending a message.”

ICEYE operates radar satellites capable of seeing through clouds, smoke and darkness. The company expanded cooperation with Ukraine’s military and pledged in January to continue providing imagery “on tactical timelines.”

Moscow has warned since the first year of its full scale invasion that Western commercial satellites assisting Ukraine could become legitimate military targets. ICEYE said it was “aware of the situation and tracking it closely” and that its “constellation architecture is designed for continuity and resilience.”

Russia’s intent remains unclear. LeoLabs said possible objectives include intelligence collection, close inspection, coercion or preparation for future operations against satellites.

The maneuvers showed capabilities that could “inspect, characterize, shadow, or potentially interfere with another spacecraft,” according to LeoLabs. The company cautioned that those movements “do not establish hostile intent.”

Analysts could not determine whether Moscow had planned an attack and reversed course or approached for another purpose. Swope said the operation could have been a dry run, while Cosmos 2612 could have carried something ranging from a jammer or laser to a projectile.

Cosmos 2612 later pulled back, but it remained at ICEYE-X36’s altitude Wednesday, roughly 250 miles, or 400 kilometers, behind it. Gillinger said it could “easily close that gap again at the time and place of their choosing.”

Integrity ISR said two additional satellites from the same launch will soon align with the orbit of ICEYE-X37. Gillinger warned that another ICEYE spacecraft could consequently face close trailing by a Russian satellite within weeks.

The retreat began Oct. 18, two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving tariffs and most economic restrictions on Russia. Swope suggested the easing of sanctions could have influenced Putin to pause the operation rather than aggravate tensions with Washington.

A 2025 war game concluded that Washington “appears to lack response options” if Russia threatened American military and commercial satellites with a nuclear weapon in orbit. There is no public indication that Cosmos 2612 carries a nuclear weapon.

Swope said no internationally recognized rule establishes when a maneuver like this becomes hostile or what standards should govern a response. Without clear consequences, he warned, Russia can turn such pressure on and off like a spigot and is likely to activate it again.