Russia-Ukraine War

Russian Cosmonauts Wear Yellow and Blue, Ukraine's Colors

Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov blasted off successfully from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan

Roscosmos via AP In this frame grab from video provided by Roscosmos, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Korsakov, Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveyev are seen during a welcome ceremony after arriving at the International Space Station, Friday, March 18, 2022.

Three Russian cosmonauts have arrived at the International Space Station wearing flight suits in yellow and blue colors that match the Ukrainian flag.

The men were the first new arrivals on the space station since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine last month.

WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE

Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

Video of one of the cosmonauts taken as the capsule prepared to dock with the space station showed him wearing a blue flight suit. It was unclear what, if any, message the yellow uniforms they changed into were intended to send.

Oleg Artemyev was asked about the yellow flight suits when the newly arrived cosmonauts were able to talk to family back on Earth.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy asked Congress for further help standing up to Russia, and repeated his call for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The speech shows the U.S. needs to support Ukrainian resistance, but also diplomacy that can end the conflict without U.S. forces getting involved, says Marcus Stanley from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

He said every crew chooses its own flight suits, so that they are not all the same.

“It became our turn to pick a color. But in fact, we had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. So that’s why we had to wear yellow,” he said.

Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov blasted off successfully from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan in their Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft at 8:55 p.m. Friday (11:55 a.m. EDT). They smoothly docked at the station just over three hours later, joining two Russians, four Americans and a German on the orbiting outpost.

This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine.

Exit mobile version