"Turning the Space Station into a Propaganda Tool"... Flood of Criticism Toward Russian Astronauts [Reading Science]

US Side: "Space Used for International Cooperation and Peaceful Space Development Abused"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "This is too much. Is the International Space Station (ISS), an international shared space, owned by Russia?".

Controversy has arisen after Russian astronauts working on the ISS distributed photos interpreted as supporting their country's invasion of Ukraine.

According to Space.com on the 6th (local time), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) distributed two photos taken by three Russian astronauts currently staying on the ISS through the social networking service (SNS) Telegram on the 4th.

The photos show Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov, all affiliated with Russia, posing. Notably, Oleg Artemyev has been the commander responsible for the entire ISS since May.

The issue is that they are each holding flags of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine's Donbas area. Roscosmos wrote, "This is a day that the residents of the occupied areas of the Luhansk region have waited for eight years. We believe that July 3, 2022, will be eternally recorded in the history of the Luhansk People's Republic." This day was when Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in battles in the Luhansk region and praised the Russian military. The Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic are located in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and are unrecognized states that declared independence in April 2014 after being seized by pro-Russian forces.

The U.S. side expressed displeasure, saying, "Russia used the ISS, an international shared space, for their propaganda." Terry Virts, a former NASA astronaut who commanded the ISS in 2015, criticized, "These photos violate the core values of the ISS as a symbol of international cooperation and peace," adding, "I am deeply disappointed that Roscosmos and these astronauts are using the ISS as a means to promote their illegal and immoral war."

Space.com also pointed out that Roscosmos continuously politicizes the ISS. The outlet noted, "Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from ISS operations since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year, using the ISS as a propaganda tool," but added, "Nevertheless, international cooperation on the ISS has continued."