Germany Plans €35B Space Defense; Ukraine Flags Drone Links

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said intelligence indicates Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers has been used to launch and control drones over European cities and urged tougher sanctions and restrictions on Russian tankers after recent airspace incursions. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned two Russian Luch/Olimp satellites have been shadowing Intelsat communications satellites used by the Bundeswehr and other governments and said Russia and China have rapidly expanded capabilities to jam, blind, manipulate or kinetically disable satellites. Pistorius unveiled plans to invest roughly €35 billion through 2030 in space-defence, funding satellite constellations, ground stations, secure launch capabilities, cybersecurity, and improved space situational awareness via radars, telescopes and surveillance satellites. He called for discussions on developing offensive space capabilities as a deterrent and said Germany has already responded to some satellite jamming. Officials and analysts are linking these orbit and aerial incidents to broader “hybrid” threats — including drone-caused airport shutdowns and multiple NATO airspace breaches as well as the prewar ViaSat cyberattack that disrupted German infrastructure — and NATO has pledged to defend allied airspace with all necessary tools.