Russian spacemen’s message to Ukraine?
THREE Russian cosmonauts boarded the International Space Station (ISS) in flight suits made in the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag, sparking speculation of a daring statement on the war 400km below them.
Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov had blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan yesterday for a sixmonth stay, joining the crew of two fellow Russians, four Americans and one German.
The trio emerged wearing bright yellow jumpsuits with blue stripes, instead of the standard-issue blue uniform. The men were welcomed on board, hugging and greeting their fellow crew.
The surprise switch from normal uniforms drew gasps from Nasa officials and veteran astronauts. ‘Wow. Just wow. Well done,’ tweeted Terry Virts, a former US commander of the ISS.
Asked about the suits in a livestreamed press conference, mission commander Mr Artemyev said: ‘It became our turn to pick a colour. We had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it.’ Russia’s space agency Roscosmos rubbished suggestions of a protest. ‘Sometimes yellow is just yellow,’ it wrote on its Telegram channel. ‘The flight suits… are made in the colours of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from... to see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy.’
Since the invasion of Ukraine, people around the world have expressed support for its citizens by using the colours of its national flag to show their solidarity.
The Russians are trading places with Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, due to return to Earth at the end of the month, with US astronaut Mark Vande Hei. Nasa said it was satisfied by the Russian space agency’s commitment to Mr Vande Hei’s safety, despite veiled suggestions by its chief Dmitry Rogozin that they may leave him behind on the ISS.