The War in Space: Russian Space Forces
The Russian Space Forces are the inheritors of one of the longest space-based military organizations. Despite intense funding struggles after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Space Forces have survived into the new century and thrived with the massive influx of Russian petrodollars. Long gone is the venerable soyuz capsule, replaced with modern delivery systems and even the first dedicated combat spacecraft ever launched.
The Russians have a robust local network of satellites, a mix of older models and a massive influx of fresh new satellites designed in a flurry of recent activity and launched beginning in 2018. By 2020 and the start of the war, Russia had 75% of its next-generation system in place, and 90% of its first-strike capability. At the beginning of the war, Russia was in an excellent position to launch attacks against American and European systems. American losses to Russian kill-sats in the first hours of the war were massive.
The Russians have also launched the first combat spacecraft, the ворон, or Raven. The Raven has a crew of three, and is equipped with a variety of anti-satellite weapons. It is excessively stealthy, probably the lowest detection-rating in any vessel or aircraft. It was highly controversial during the design and construction process, coming in highly over-budget, but managed to get in orbit in time for the first strikes against the European satellite network, downing ten satellites in the first hour of the war and paving the way for Russian ground forces to force their way to the outskirts of Warsaw within the first week of the war.