Russian astronauts display flag of occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions onboard ISS

Russia’s space agency ROSCOSMOS on Monday released photos of the Russian cosmonauts holding the flag of self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk on board the International Space Station (ISS). The images were broadcasted on the official Roscosmos Telegram channel. Russian astronauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov were seen unfurling the flags of the two breakaway territories that were declared as independent by Russia and officially recognised by Moscow's ally Syria for the first time. 

“Liberation Day of the Luhansk People’s Republic! We celebrate both on Earth and in space," read the message, The Guardian reports. 

ROSCOSMOS, meanwhile, said in a statement: “Roscosmos and our cosmonauts, who are working today at the International Space Station, join the congratulations of the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, on the ‘new Day of the Great Victory’." “This is a long-awaited day that residents of the occupied areas of the Luhansk region have been waiting for eight years. We are confident that 3 July 2022 will forever go down in the history of the republic. Citizens of the allied Donetsk People’s Republic, wait!”

Russian Progress cargo space freighter docked on ISS on June 3

An uncrewed Russian Progress cargo space freighter that was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome had docked on ISS on June 3. Also called Tyuratam or Turatam, Baikonur Cosmodrome is a former Soviet and current Russian space centre in south-central Kazakhstan. It was carrying supplies such as food and fuel to the International Space Station and it is not understood how the flag reached the spacecraft. 

The three Russian cosmonauts, Artemyev, Matveyev and Korsakov had arrived at the International Space Station (ISS)wearing Yellow and Blue uniform showing solidarity with Ukraine, as they wore uniforms in Ukrainian flag colours. They had blasted off successfully from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan in their Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft and joined four Americans, and a German on the ISS. When asked about the colour's symbolism, Artemyev said, "It became our turn to pick a colour. 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." In the later statements, they clarified the uniform represents their university, and was not symbolising the Ukrainian flag.