Judging by the article the system in question simply was maneuvering near another Russian satellite and got really close to it. It didn't fire any projectiles to destroy it or anything like that. So I don't understand why it caused such fuss, apart from the routine nurturing of the Russian scarecrow.
Yes, such systems could be used for military purposes (e.g. for inspecting US spy sattelites or for interfering with their work), but also can be used for civilian as well (e.g. refueling, safe deorbiting, and even some day repairs). It's far easier and more reliable to destroy enemy satellites using ground based systems, after all you just need to create a field of ballistic debris which can be slower than first cosmic velocity, so it will be cheaper than satellite. So I highly doubt purpose of the system is satellite destruction.