Ukraine’s new frontier: how space has become critical to balance of the war

In a war driven by drones and battlefield sensors, access to space is essential. After Starlink speed restrictions and Russian Oreshnik missile strikes, Kyiv is racing to develop its own space capabilities

For people in the Russian industrial city of Samara on the banks of the Volga, the first they knew of the Ukrainian attack were detonations that sent a column of smoke into the air.

If the Kremlin was vague about the target, video footage on social media soon made it clear what had been hit in the early hours of 15 August: the Progress Rocket and Space Centre, manufacturer of Russia’s Soyuz-2 rockets.