UK unveils new units to counter Russian disinformation and space threats

The UK announced two major defence initiatives on Tuesday and Wednesday to counter Russian threats, including a new national centre for information defence and the country's first military squadron dedicated to protecting satellites in space. Andy Burnham unveiled plans for the centre in a UN General Assembly speech, accusing Russian agencies of conducting an "industrial-scale assault" on the information environment using bots, fake websites, and forged branding of British organisations. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the threats are of a "different order of magnitude" than historic propaganda challenges. The Kremlin criticised the announcement as fostering "Russophobia," while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called it a "Labour Ministry of Truth." Streeting dismissed such claims, insisting the government is not interested in policing domestic political dissent.