Commercial satellites that the U.S. and its allies are using could become "legitimate" targets for retaliatory action by Russia, a senior Russian foreign ministry official told the United Nations on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, western commercial satellites have documented Russia's military developments, damage to Russian air bases, and even mass graves in areas occupied by Russian forces.

Elon Musk has deployed his company SpaceX's Starlink satellites above Ukraine since the early days of the war to help provide internet service.

Earlier this month, Musk said the Starlink satellites provide a "major battlefield advantage" to Ukraine.

What they're saying: The use of "commercial, infrastructure elements in outer space for military purposes" by the U.S. and its allies constitutes an "extremely dangerous trend," Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's non-proliferation and arms control department, said in remarks published by Russia's permanent mission to the UN.

"These States do not realise that such actions in fact constitute indirect participation in military conflicts," he added.