Russian Cosmonauts Wear Ukrainian Colors For Their Arrival At the ISS

Three Russian cosmonauts wearing Ukrainian colors, which are blue and yellow, have arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).

On Feb. 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine. Countries around the globe, especially the US, Canada, the UK and those in the EU imposed a wide-ranging economic sanction targeting Russian individuals and institutions as a global response to stop Moscow.

To show solidarity, the newly-arrived cosmonauts with their yellow suits are believed to emphasize that they opposed the invasion of Ukraine. Once arrived, the crew aboard the ISS welcomed the trio by hugging, BBC reported. To remind, normally, a cosmonaut suit is blue.

Russian cosmonauts arrived in yellow

The Soyuz spacecraft carrying Denis Matveyev, Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a three-hour spaceflight.

“Three Russian cosmonauts who just docked with the ISS arrive in Ukrainian yellow!” said Scott Felly, former NASA astronaut who spent nearly a year on the ISS. In his tweet, he also wrote in Russian. Another former NASA astronaut Terry Virts tweeted, saying: “Wow. Just wow. Well done”.

Roscosmos’ objection

However, Artemyev gave a cryptic response when asked about the suit. “It became our turn to pick a color,” he said. “We had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. That’s why we had to wear yellow”.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos opposed views of associating yellow with Ukraine. “Sometimes yellow is jest yellow. These are Bauman Tech University colors. To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is madness,” said Roscosmos press service, according to Katya Pavlushchenko, a space enthusiast.

Led by the NASA-Roscosmos partnership, the International Space Station is a joint venture with the participation of Canada’s CSA, Europe’s ESA and JAXA from Japan as well.

Previously, the head of the Roscosmos has suggested that the ISS could fall into the US or Europe as a result of global sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.