‘Sometimes yellow is just yellow’: Russia denies that cosmonauts wore Ukrainian colours to show support
‘To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy’, Russian space agency says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russia’s space agency has dismissed reports that their cosmonauts chose to wear yellow suits with a blue trim in support of Ukraine when they joined the International Space Station (ISS), saying: “Sometimes yellow is just yellow”.
The three Russian cosmonauts arrived on the ISS in brand new yellow jumpsuits, a departure from their traditional dark blue colour.
Denis Matveyev, Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov were welcomed on board by their fellow American, Russian and German crew members.
In a press conference live-streamed by Nasa, the American space agency, and the Russian agency Roscosmos, Mr Artemyev joked: “We had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. That’s why we had to wear yellow.”
He said: “It became our turn to pick a colour”.
The three cosmonauts were the first new arrivals on the ISS since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since Vladimir Putin’s war began on 24 February, many people worldwide have used the colours of its national flag - yellow and blue - to show solidarity with the country.
However the Russian space agency dismissed the suggestion that the Russian cosmonauts were showing support for Ukraine.
Roscosmos’ press service said on Saturday: “Sometimes yellow is just yellow.”
They added: “The flight suits of the new crew are made in the colours of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from ... to see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy.”
Roscosmos’ director general Dmitry Rogozin said on his personal Telegram channel that the cosmonauts had no sympathy for Ukrainian nationalists.
The three Russians will stay on the ISS for over six months and replace three current crew members who are scheduled to fly back to Earth on 30 March.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments