Free Republic

Three Russian cosmonauts have arrived at the International Space Station wearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag. The Soyuz capsule carrying Commander Oleg Artemyev as well as Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov docked at the orbiting platform three hours after take off. Their arrival comes amid strong tensions between the US and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. In a twist, the new arrivals were all wearing the distinctive yellow and blue colours associated with the country Vladimir Putin's forces invaded last month. The mission continues a 20-year-shared Russian and American presence in orbit, despite the war raging below. As...

There have been a lot of people protesting the war in Russia, and in a time where such protest can get you locked up–facing a lot of punishment–that’s a brave thing to do. They’ve been protesting since the first day of the invasion. But perhaps it’s even more dangerous an effort to protest when you have a very high-profile position. It’s hard to think of people with a “higher” position than cosmonauts being sent into space, to the International Space Station.Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the Station on Saturday, as the first Russian group sent into space since the Russian...