Russia releases new video of detachment from ISS, blames the West for aggravating ties

Further escalating the tensions in space cooperation, Russia has now released a video indicating its detachment from the International Space Station (ISS). The video surfaced on Twitter after a handle named NASA Watch posted the same, claiming it was released by Russian government-owned media outlet RIA Novosti on Telegram and is aimed at "threatening the ISS program". The development comes after Russian space agency Roscosmos has blocked cooperation with all other major space agencies in retaliation to the sanctions imposed on it for invading Ukraine.  

According to NASA Watch, the video shows NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei being bid adieu by Russian cosmonauts following which the Russian segment detached from the ISS. This new move of Russia is being considered provocative and hints towards its potential non-cooperation in the space sector considering Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin's threat in the past. So far, Rogozin has announced severing ties on major fronts with NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the German space agency (DLR) most recently. Earlier, he had even said that Russia's exit from the ISS might even lead to the observatory's crash into Earth. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Vande Hei, who has spent over 300 days in space, is scheduled to return to Earth on March 30 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, something which seems highly unlikely considering Russia's response to the West's actions. 

Russia blames the West for collapsing space cooperation

Rogozin, in a recent interview on Russian television, has blamed the Western countries for the collapsing space cooperation amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. "The blame for the collapse of cooperation in space lies on the shoulders of the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany" These countries destroyed what was created by mankind with such difficulty, what was created by the blood and sweat of those people who mastered space", Roscosmos wrote in a tweet quoting Rogozin. 

The Roscosmos chief even reminded Russia's sacrifice for the US as it had "reduced its ISS crew in the early 2010s to help the US fly into orbit". He further added that the US had lost its manned spaceflight capabilities in 2011, which made it turn to Russia's Soyuz rocket for the following nine years. 

Image: Twitter/@Space_Station