Russian space agency Roscosmos director said Thursday that the sanctions imposed by the United States in retaliation to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine will ‘destroy cooperation’ on the International Space Station (ISS) between the two countries.

The stringent measures would also endanger the safety of other nations if the ISS de-orbits and falls, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said.

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The International Space Station is a large spacecraft that astronauts have lived in since the year 2000. The research platform is presently home to four NASA, one European, and two Russian astronauts. It is orbiting around 400 km above Earth.

“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe?” Rogozin said in a Twitter post, soon after the US announced new sanctions. 

“There is also the option of dropping a 500-tonne structure to India or China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?” he said in another tweet.

He also went on to ask the US not to behave ‘irresponsibly’, in the form of ‘friendly advice’.

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US President Joe Biden had announced new sanctions against Russia after it launched an invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday. The new curbs include blocking assets of large Russian banks, implementing export bans directed at the country’s high-tech needs, and sanctioning Russian corporate oligarchs in order to target Russia’s financial system.

However, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a statement clarifying that the new sanctions won’t endanger the space cooperation between the two countries, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

“NASA continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station. The new export control measures will continue to allow US-Russia civil space cooperation. No changes are planned to the agency’s support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations.”

Rogozin called the statement ‘diplomatic’ and said Moscow was analysing the new US sanctions before giving a detailed response.