This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Russian officials have denied reports in the West that suggested Russian cosmonauts who joined the International Space Station (ISS) had donned yellow suits with blue trim in support of Ukraine.
“The flight suits of the new crew are made in the colors of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from,” the press service of Russian space agency Roskosmos said on March 19 on its Telegram channel.
“To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy,” it said. “Sometimes yellow is just yellow.”
In a livestreamed news conference from the ISS, mission commander Oleg Artemyev said that “every crew picks a color that looks different.”
“It was our turn to pick a color. The truth is, we had accumulated a lot of yellow fabric, so we needed to use it up. That’s why we had to wear yellow flight suits,” he said.
He was quoted on the Roskosmos Telegram channel as saying the suits had been made six months ago.
“Color is just color. It has nothing to do with Ukraine,” he said.
“In these days, even though we are in space, we are together with our president and people!”
Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian forces on February 24, has a blue and yellow flag.
