Russian-backed hackers hijacked a Ukrainian satellite during Victory Day, broadcasting Russian military parade footage instead of local programming, highlighting how modern warfare extends into space and cyberspace, reports the Associated Press. Satellites are critical for communications, navigation, and military operations, making them prime targets. Russia is reportedly developing a nuclear space weapon capable of disabling satellites in low-Earth orbit, threatening global security. Meanwhile, nations race to exploit lunar resources like helium-3 for future energy, intensifying space competition. The US has created the Space Force to protect its interests, but rising threats from Russia and China emphasize the urgent need for defense and regulation in space. They write:

As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine.

Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. […]

Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without one bullet, and it can be done by targeting the satellite’s security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth. […]

More than 12,000 operating satellites now orbit the planet, playing a critical role not just in broadcast communications but also in military operations, navigation systems like GPS, intelligence gathering and economic supply chains. They are also key to early launch-detection efforts, which can warn of approaching missiles. […]

National security officials say Russia is developing a nuclear, space-based weapon designed to take out virtually every satellite in low-Earth orbit at once. The weapon would combine a physical attack that would ripple outward, destroying more satellites, while the nuclear component is used to fry their electronics. […]

American dominance in space has been largely unquestioned for decades following the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. But the new threats and competition posed by Russia and China show the need for an aggressive response, U.S. officials say. […]

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Also read, Shadows in Orbit: Dogfights and EMP Blasts in Space.