Russia’s Kosmos-2612 carried out an unusual sequence of orbital maneuvers in October, matching the path of the Finnish-American ICEYE-X36 satellite and approaching it by several hundred meters or possibly less. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported the episode on Wednesday, October 21.

The Russian craft stopped closing in on October 18 and was about 480 kilometers away by October 21. ICEYE said it was aware of the situation and monitoring it closely, with no malfunction of ICEYE-X36 reported.

Orbital-tracking company LeoLabs said the activity appeared to be a complex rendezvous operation rather than a routine flyby. Specialists cited reconnaissance, testing of inspection capabilities and efforts to provoke fuel-consuming evasive maneuvers among the possible explanations, but no objective was independently established.

ICEYE operates radar-imaging satellites whose data are used by Ukraine for defense and intelligence purposes. Experts warned that uncoordinated close approaches increase the danger of an accidental collision and may also serve as pressure within a broader hybrid campaign.