Media reports Kiev wanting detention of man aboard space station
(MENAFN) Ukrainian authorities are reportedly seeking the arrest of Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Zubritsky, who is currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), on charges of treason. According to Ukrainian media, Zubritsky, a former Ukrainian military pilot born in what is now Russian-controlled Zaporozhye Region, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by a court in Vinnitsa this March. His property was also ordered confiscated.
Zubritsky, who traveled to space earlier this week alongside Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim aboard the Soyuz MS-27 mission, has been labeled a “traitor-cosmonaut” by Ukrainian newspaper Dumska. The outlet accused him of desertion and claimed his selection for the space mission was politically motivated, aimed at portraying a “Ukrainian-turned-Russian” achieving national prestige by going to space.
Born in 1992, Zubritsky trained as a military pilot in Kharkov and was stationed in Crimea during the 2014 Ukrainian political upheaval. Following Crimea's vote to join Russia, he remained in service under the Russian military and joined the space program in 2017.
Ukrainian officials reportedly consider him a draft dodger, though enforcement of the sentence is symbolic since, as Russian media pointed out, “he is in space.” The Ukrainian media outlet also criticized the apparent lack of U.S. objection to his participation in the ISS mission.
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