Russian cosmonauts boarded the International Space Station (ISS) in unique yellow spacesuits, sparking speculation that the move is a discreet show of support for Ukraine.
Sergey Korsakov, Oleg Artemyev, and Denis Matveyev are the first three cosmonauts to be welcomed aboard the International Space Station since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February.
A video of one of the cosmonauts wearing a conventional light blue suit as their space capsule docked with the station showed him wearing one that matched the colours of the Ukrainian flag before he and his colleagues really entered.
When asked about the significance of the spacesuit, Mr Artemyev replied that each crew is allowed to select its own flying suit in order to set itself apart from the rest.
"It was now our chance to choose a colour. However, we had amassed a large amount of yellow stuff and needed to put it to good use. As a result, we've had to dress in yellow "he stated
Given Russia's crackdown on dissent, some have hypothesised that deniability may be a key characteristic for such a protest.
They arrived at the International Space Station to join two other Russians, four Americans, and a German, but there are concerns that diplomatic fallout from the Ukraine conflict could jeopardise the international collaboration needed to keep the station in orbit and crew safe.
The project's future is most certainly bleak. NASA has revealed plans to remove the 444,615kg structure from orbit in January 2031 and crash it onto a "spacecraft cemetery" in the farthest reaches of the planet.
However, following US sanctions on Russia, the country's space chief warned that Russia could abandon the project much sooner than that, despite NASA scientists appearing unconcerned.
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