Russia ridicules idea its cosmonauts wore yellow for Ukraine.

Russia’s space agency has dismissed Western media reports suggesting Russian cosmonauts joining the International Space Station (ISS) had chosen to wear yellow suits with blue trim in support of Ukraine.

Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin was more acerbic, saying on his personal Telegram channel that Russian cosmonauts had no sympathy for Ukrainian nationalists.

In a livestreamed news conference from the ISS on Friday, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, the mission commander, was quoted on Roscosmos’s Telegram channel as saying the suits had been made six months ago, and that the three cosmonauts had chosen the colours of their alma mater.

Rogozin has suggested that US sanctions imposed in response to the invasion could destroy ISS teamwork and lead to the space station falling out of orbit.

Seun Fakorede