Russia rejects claims of abandoning NASA astronaut on ISS; calls reports 'hysterical'

A week ago, Russian media house RIA Novosti had posted a video on Telegram that showed Russia leaving the International Space Station (ISS). Ever since its release, the video has caused turbulence in space and on Earth as many fear Moscow would abandon NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who is scheduled to return on March 30. However, Russian space agency Director General Dmitry Rogozin has rejected the claims of ‘Western media’ and scoffed at their ‘hysterical conclusion’.

Image: Telegram/@Dmitry Rogozin

In a Telegram post shared on March 12, Rogozin addressed the fears about Vande Hei being left behind at the ISS after recent videos released by Moscow sparked suspicions about the same. "Russia removes Western flags from its rockets, from which the Western media draws the hysterical conclusion that the American astronaut will be left to live (not replaced) on the ISS. They won't leave. Will replace", Rogozin wrote in his post with a follow-up "what idiots they are" comment.  

NASA reiterates cooperation with Russia in space

Despite the fears of Russia going rogue in space, NASA has reiterated that its collaboration with the former and its cosmonauts will continue. Rogozin's recent statement also implies that Vande Hei's return would be executed as planned on the decided date. Vande Hei, who has spent over 300 days in space, is on his way to breaking the record set by retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (340 days) for the longest continuous stay. He would land in Kazakhstan with two Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Petr Dubrov in Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

Kelly, who has flown on multiple NASA missions, is on bad terms with Rogozin after coming across the removal of the US flag by Russia. These events unfolded after the west imposed heavy sanctions on Russia in retaliation to Moscow's Ukraine invasion. In an interview with CNN, Kelly said that he confronted Rogozin after watching the video and added, "If he's going to act like a child, then I'm going to treat him like one. It's just unimaginable that the Russian space program would leave a person behind in space that they were responsible for bringing home. I don't see that happening". 

Image: NASA