Russian astronaut's yellow spacesuit, a twist in meaning? "Just a color"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) responded to criticism that its astronauts dispatched to the International Space Station (ISS) wore spacesuits with colors reminiscent of the Ukrainian flag by stating, "It's just the color."

On the 19th (local time), Bloomberg News reported that Roscosmos posted on Telegram that the colors of the spacesuits in question "are the logo colors of the Moscow Bauman State Technical University from which they graduated," adding, "Sometimes it is yellow." They also said, "Trying to find the Ukrainian flag everywhere is madness."

The Russian astronauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov, who arrived at the ISS aboard the Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the previous afternoon, attracted attention by wearing new spacesuits primarily yellow with some blue mixed in. Some people associated this with the Ukrainian flag, and there was speculation that wearing these spacesuits might carry an anti-war meaning.

One of the Russian astronauts, Artemyev, said during communication with Earth after arriving at the ISS, "It was our turn to choose the (spacesuit) color. But there was a large stockpile of yellow material, so we had to choose that."

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many people, including prominent figures, have expressed support for Ukraine by wearing clothing that includes yellow and blue. Within Russia, a new law has been enacted that can impose up to 15 years in prison for criticizing the war.