Russian satellite data aids Houthi strikes on Western vessels in Red Sea

Yemen’s Houthi rebels utilised targeting information provided by Russia to launch attacks on Western vessels in the Red Sea earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, including two European defense officials, the report indicates that Russian satellite data enabled the Houthis to target ships. This collaboration contributed to regional instability, particularly amidst the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.

Sources close to the matter confirm that Russia’s involvement helped the Houthis target critical maritime routes, exacerbating tensions in the region.

The Huthis, who control vast swaths of Yemen, started targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

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The attacks have led to a dramatic drop in traffic through the key shipping lane.

In response, the United States and Britain deployed a naval coalition to the region and have bombed Huthi targets in Yemen.

In more than 100 Huthi attacks over nearly a year, four sailors have been killed and two ships have sunk, while one vessel and its crew remain detained since being hijacked last November.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been keen to push back against the political and economic isolation imposed on his country by the West since his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The report in the Journal comes on the heels of a summit of the BRICS countries, a diplomatic grouping that draws together nine countries that account for almost half the world’s population, including China, India and Iran.

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Separately, Moscow faced fresh accusations of escalating the conflict in Ukraine this week with the United States, South Korea, NATO and Kyiv all saying North Korea had sent troops to Russia.

With inputs from agencies.