German defence minister warns against growing Russian threat in space

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned on Thursday about the growing threat posed by Russian space activities, citing concerns over two Russian satellites shadowing Intelsat satellites used by German forces and others.

"Russia and China have expanded their capabilities for warfare in space rapidly over the past years: They can disrupt satellite operations, blind satellites, manipulate or kinetically destroy them," he told a space conference in Berlin.

Pistorius underscored the need for talks on developing offensive capabilities in space as a deterrent, pointing to Russia's use of two of its Luch Olymp satellites to track Intelsat satellites.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Editing by Friederike Heine)