Aggiornamento 08/07 - 11:50: The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has reissued a statement where it shares the words of NASA.
"The International Space Station partners continue to work together to advance space science and technology for the benefit of all humanity." Reads the email sent to the press, "That said, the Canadian Space Agency joins NASA in rebuking Russia for using the International Space Station, a beacon of peaceful cooperation, for political purposes to support its illegal war against Ukraine.
Original article: On 4 July, the space agency of the Russian federation, Roscosmos, published on its telegram channel two photos containing the cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov holding the tricolor flags of the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic .
"This is a long-awaited day that residents of the occupied areas of the Luhansk region have been expecting for eight years. We are confident that July 3, 2022 will forever go down in the history of the republic," reads the message sent on the Telegram channel.
These photos represented, very clearly, how Russia wants to use the International Space Station for propaganda purposes concerning the invasion of Ukraine.
Four days after sharing these images, NASA released a statement regarding the fact in an email sent to the media.
"NASA strongly rebukes Russia using the International Space Station for political purposes to support its war against Ukraine, which is fundamentally inconsistent with the station’s primary function among the 15 international participating countries to advance science and develop technology for peaceful purposes."reads the email.
In September 2022, American astronaut Frank Rubio is expected to fly on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina on a SpaceX Dragon. After this event, it is unclear whether this 'change of posts' will take place as the agreement was never formally signed by either government.
For live updates regarding the International Space Station go here.