A Russian military satellite, Cosmos 2612, has closed to roughly 3 miles, from a previous distance of more than 200 miles, of the U.S.-owned radar satellite that operates in a fleet that supports Ukraine, Axios reports. The unapproved rendezvous in low Earth orbit, which astronomer Jonathan McDowell says may be the first of its kind, raises alarm in the West. The position change, which was likely not an accident as fuel is scarce, is probably a provocation and an attempt to spy on the satellite.

New TLEs show that K2612 made a manuever on Oct 16 and is now stationkeeping within 5 km or less of ICEYE X36. To my knowledge this is the first LEO rendezvous of two active satellites where the owner of one of the sats did not give approval.October 17, 2026

LeoLabs said in a statement Friday that the movement “appears to be a deliberate approach” toward ICEYE-X36, with uncertain intent and behavior that “warrants continued monitoring.” Roughly 3 miles is too close for comfort in satellite terms: there is no strict legal limit on how close satellites can get, but countries generally keep at least 6 miles (9.7 km) apart, University of Mississippi space law professor Aaron Brynildson told Axios. The approach was made without the owner’s consent, and Russia hasn’t said what the military satellite carries.

Some clues may come from the target’s operational purpose. ICEYE-X36 is a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite which can image through cloud cover and at night.

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