Gen. Stephen Whiting doesn’t mince words. “They’re putting operational systems up within orbit reach of our high-value satellites,” the head of US Space Command told the Center for Strategic and International Studies this week. Russia, he says, has moved beyond tests. It’s fielding co-orbital anti-satellite weapons—satellites that stalk America’s most prized orbital eyes, ready to strike. These aren’t distant threats. Picture nesting dolls in space: larger Russian satellites eject smaller ones, which maneuver close, then release high-velocity projectiles. That’s the Nivelir program , per US assessments. Launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome last May, the latest suspect shadowed the National Reconnaissance Office’s USA 338 Keyhole-class spy satellite. Precise timing aligned their orbital planes. A few minutes off, and the hunter misses its prey. Whiting compares it to flying a new fighter jet near Russian bombers patrolling Alaska. Provocative. Intentional.…