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A NASA astronaut has spoken out about the time his Russian colleagues backed the war against Ukraine.
A mission that was focused on space research and unity soon gave way to political tensions between colleagues.
In a recent interview with The Kyiv Independent, retired US astronaut Colonel Terry Virts discusses his time aboard the International Space Station alongside his Russian crewmates in 2014–2015. This also coincided with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the initial invasion of Ukraine's eastern regions.
During this time, Virts shared the space station with several Russian cosmonauts, and initially, their relationship was warm and friendly.
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"I'd have dinner with them every night, and [...] they teach me words you don't learn in Russian class," Virts described. "We had a good time together."
But things took a turn as events unfolded back on the ground.
"We were looking out the window, and we're flying over Europe, and it was like, 'Oh, there's Ukraine'," Virts explained. "And all of a sudden, we saw these little red flashes on the ground."
The 57-year-old added: "So, we were watching Russians bomb Ukrainians in the winter of 2015. It was just profound."
Furthermore, Virts admitted feeling 'weird' when his commander, Anton Shkaplerov, who was born in Crimea, proudly celebrated Russia’s annexation of the region - something Virts referred to as 'perverted imperialism.'
Even more unsettling for Virts was that his crewmates - whom he viewed as intelligent and well-educated - openly supported Russia’s political leadership and military actions. "All three of them went to join Putin's party [...] and they were supporting the war," Virts said.
"And these guys are the most enlightened people in the world. [...] And yet, they still went to support this evil war. It was incredibly disappointing."
Despite these divisions, the retired NASA astronaut shared the importance of keeping space missions about science. He described how the ISS partnership became like a strained marriage held together for the sake of the mission.
"You can still operate the space station [...] We could operate it safely without launching on each other's capsules," Virts claimed.
Later on in the interview, Virts also criticised how space exploration has become increasingly politicised, both in Russia and back home in the US. For example, Vladimir Putin uses space achievements to project Russia's 'power' and strength, he stated. Meanwhile, Virts disagreed with how President Donald Trump and Elon Musk handled the Boeing stranded astronauts, pointing the blame at the former Biden administration.
