Russia responds to European sanctions, Roscosmos suspends cooperation
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, withdraws experts from the Kourou space station and suspends the launch of Soyuz missiles.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, announced that its website came under a cyberattack last night.
Simultaneously, in response to European Union sanctions, the Russian space agency withdrew its experts from the Kourou space station and suspended the launch of Soyuz missiles.
Moreover, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has suspended cooperation with Europe on launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and has recalled its staff from French Guiana, according to Dmitry Rogozin, the agency's head.
"In response to EU sanctions against our enterprises, Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and is recalling its technical personnel, including the combined launch crew, from French Guiana," Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel.
On Friday, the EU Council of Foreign Ministers approved the second package of EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.
The Russian Foreign Ministry promised an appropriate response to the European Union's decision to impose sanctions on President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
On Thursday, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine, responding to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for help in countering the aggression of the Ukrainian troops.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
The Russian President also warned that Moscow would respond immediately to any attempt from abroad to obstruct the military operation, and that response would lead to results that those who might be tempted to interfere in the current events have never faced in their history.
Today, Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian Armed Forces do not carry out any missile, air, or artillery attacks on the cities of Ukraine, noting that the military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airports, and aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are being targeted with precision weapons.