Ukraine reached space twice during the war. Now it wants to shoot down Oreshnik in orbit

Ukraine’s military intelligence launched rockets to altitudes of up to 204 km and tested an airborne spaceport — the first in Europe. These achievements are now the foundation for a new branch of the armed forces.

While Russia strikes Ukraine with missiles that travel beyond the atmosphere, Kyiv is preparing an asymmetric response: the creation of its own Space Force. That was announced by Fedir Venislavskyi, chair of the Verkhovna Rada’s subcommittee on state security, defence, and defence innovation, who revealed details of covert operations that until recently were unknown to the general public.

According to him, units of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) have already launched a rocket carrier into space twice — reaching altitudes of over 100 km and 204 km respectively. Separately, a rocket was launched from a transport aircraft at an altitude of approximately 8,000 metres — the first such air-launch in Europe and only the second in world history, after the American precedent in the mid-1970s.

Key figures:

• 204 km: Maximum altitude reached by HUR rocket carrier during the war
• 8,000 m: Air-launch altitude — a European record
• 8–10: Satellites needed to establish an initial constellation3–5 years: Estimated time to fully operational Space Force

Oreshnik and the gap in Ukraine’s defences

The catalyst for the Space Force idea was the Oreshnik — a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile. It was first used against Dnipro in November 2024, and again against Lviv in January 2026. The missile accelerates to over 13,000 km/h (Mach 10–11), carries up to six independently targetable warheads with submunitions, and follows a trajectory that exits the atmosphere — rising above 100 kilometres.

That is precisely where Ukraine’s problem lies: its air defence systems can only engage targets up to 30–40 km in altitude. The Oreshnik attacks from space — a domain where there are no state borders, and where Ukraine currently has no legal authority to conduct armed operations. Resolving this paradox is one of the stated goals of the proposed Space Force legislation.

“Intercepting the Oreshnik is most effective before its warheads separate in space. It is far easier to shoot down one target than six warheads already manoeuvring at hypersonic speed in different directions.” — Fedir Venislavskyi, Member of the Verkhovna Rada

Putin has claimed the Oreshnik is “absolutely unstoppable” by modern air defence. A number of Western experts partly agree: the interceptors currently available to Ukraine are not adapted to engage targets at such altitudes and speeds. Against this backdrop, Venislavskyi’s revelations about Ukraine’s ability to place rockets into orbit carry significant strategic weight.

The secret launches: what we know

Venislavskyi confirmed that the HUR rocket launches were not demonstrations but live combat missions, conducted under the command of then-HUR chief Kyrylo Budanov. The technical results were officially recorded. According to the MP, Ukraine also possesses rockets capable of striking targets up to 500 km away at hypersonic speeds — weapons that “almost no one knows about.”

A separate achievement was the test of an “airborne spaceport”: a rocket carrier launched from a transport aircraft at approximately 8 km altitude. This yields a significant advantage — the lowest kilometres of the atmosphere are the densest, where a rocket expends the most fuel. Launching from 8 km dramatically increases useful payload or range.

Timeline

From concept to law: where the decision stalled

The Sviridenko government set a target of establishing the Space Force by 31 December 2025 — with 60% operational readiness by 2026. That deadline proved unrealistic: Bill No. 13255 has still not been voted on. Venislavskyi says the obstacles were “subjective” and have now been cleared. He expects a vote in parliament in the near term.

For context: the UK Space Force began with just five officers in 2021. The US Space Force took years to build, backed by multi-billion-dollar budgets. Ukraine plans to start with a command of 10–15 people, growing capabilities incrementally — in cooperation with partners.

How much will it cost — and who pays?

A single reconnaissance or telecommunications satellite costs between $20 million and $50 million. An initial constellation of 8–10 satellites would require between $160 million and $500 million for the hardware alone. Under a wartime budget, these are substantial sums, so Kyiv is banking on international cooperation: partners have already signalled readiness to supply satellites, while Ukraine can provide launch capacity using its own rockets.

Ukraine is also in talks to join EU space programmes — including Copernicus (Earth observation) and space situational awareness initiatives. These agreements could substantially reduce the cost of deployment.

Editorial analysis

The public disclosure of the HUR’s secret launches is not accidental. It is a deliberate signal: Ukraine is staking a claim to the status of a space-capable state with combat-proven capabilities. Diplomatically, it is an argument for attracting partners and funding. In security terms, it is a warning to Moscow that the Oreshnik may eventually face a response from beyond the atmosphere. But between the announcement and the actual ability to intercept missiles in orbit lies a gap of several billion dollars and years of development. For now, Ukraine is playing the psychological game in space the same way Russia played it with the Oreshnik.