UN urges Russia to cease interference with European satellite systems - Sky News

Photo: UN calls on Russia to cease interference with European satellite systems (Getty Images)

The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has asked Russia to stop interfering with European satellite systems, as this endangers air traffic control, Sky News informs.

According to Sky News, last week the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reviewed a number of complaints from Ukraine and four EU countries - France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Luxembourg - about alleged Russian interference in recent months.

They claimed that GPS signals were jammed, air traffic control was compromised, and children's TV channels were interrupted to show violent images of the war in Ukraine.

The ITU "expressed its grave concern regarding the use of signals to cause intentional harmful interference."

They added that the disruptions in the French and Swedish satellite networks "seemed to originate from earth station(s) located in the areas of Moscow, Kaliningrad and Pavlovka."

The ITU called these incidents "extremely worrisome and unacceptable" and asked Russia to immediately stop them and conduct an investigation.

The International Telecommunication Union also proposed a meeting between Russia and the affected countries. However, Moscow denies violating ITU rules. Moreover, Russia has complained about alleged satellite interference from NATO countries.

Russia jamming GPS in EU countries

Recently we reported that Russia has jammed GPS signals on every fourth military aviation transport flight of the UK over Eastern Europe in the first four months of 2024. The total number of flights affected by GPS jamming amounts to hundreds.

Additionally, Russia has started creating obstacles for the operation of satellite networks in Sweden. This occurred after the Scandinavian country became a NATO member.

Moreover, on May 2, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that Russia's actions had led to a disruption of GPS signals in the Baltic Sea region. According to him, the aggressor country deliberately jams the signal, and this has intensified over the past year and a half.