Russia may have rehearsed an attack on a commercial satellite supplying radar imagery to Ukraine, according to a military space specialist cited by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-may-have-rehearsed-attack-satellite-specialist-says-flagging-another-2026-11-05/).

In mid-October, Russia's Cosmos 2612 military satellite maneuvered to within about one kilometer of ICEYE's X36 spacecraft, possibly closing to just a few hundred meters or less.

US Under Secretary of State Thomas DiNanno described the maneuver as deliberate and "consistent with on-orbit weapons operations."

The X36 satellite, operated by Finnish company ICEYE, provides radar imagery to Western governments and militaries, including Ukraine.

The encounter "looks like an attack rehearsal," said Greg Gillinger, a senior space analyst at Integrity ISR. He suggested Russia may have been testing a kinetic attack capability, arguing that such a close approach was unnecessary for intelligence gathering or electronic interference.

Two other Russian military satellites are now moving toward the orbital path of another ICEYE spacecraft, X37, according to Gillinger and US space-tracking firm COMSPOC.

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