Netherlands joins 7 EU countries in UN complaint over Russian satellite sabotage

Eight European countries, including the Netherlands, will file a complaint with the United Nations (UN) on Monday about ongoing Russian sabotage of European satellite communications, according to documents in Nieuwsuur’s possession.

For about a year now, several European countries have been experiencing disruptions to satellites operated by Eutelsat and SES - Europe’s two most important satellite providers. The most striking disruption occurred last spring, when Russian war propaganda suddenly appeared on children’s television channel BabyTV on two occasions. During the same period, Russian propaganda appeared multiple times on Ukrainian television channels.

Eutelsat is based in France, and SES is based in Sweden and Luxembourg. The companies investigated the disruptions last year and concluded that they came from Russia, trying to disrupt Ukrainian television. The disruption to the kids' channel in the Netherlands was “collateral damage.”

The complaint is signed by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, France, and the Netherlands. It will go to the International Telecommunication Union (UTI), the highest international body responsible for satellite communications. The body falls under the UN. Another 17 EU member states and the United Kingdom also supported the complaint.

“By signing the complaint, we are showing that we, as the countries involved, are working together on this,” the National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, told Nieuwsuur.

“It is very good that the Netherlands is taking action against this,” Patrick Bolder of The Hague Center for Strategic Studies told the program. “You have to expose who is doing it and how damaging it is.”

Europe uses the Eutelsat and SES satellites for radio and television communication and navigation in aviation, among other things. In addition to television broadcasting, the Russian sabotage also affects navigation signals that are crucial for shipping and aviation. According to the documents in Nieuwsuur’s possession, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have recorded over 30,000 flights over the Baltic States experiencing disruptions since September last year.

Dutch airlines have also experienced disruptions. The number of disruption reports by Dutch pilots to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate increased from 163 in 2023 to 1,318 last year.