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Sanctions against Russia could cause the International Space Station (ISS) to crash, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Saturday.
Dmitry Rogozin said the punitive measures, some of which predate Russia's invasion of Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS.
The Russian segment of the station, which helps correct its orbit, could be affected, causing the 500-tonne structure to “fall down into the sea or on to land”, Mr Rogozin wrote on Telegram.
“The Russian segment ensures that the station's orbit is corrected [on average 11 times a year], including to avoid space debris”, said Mr Rogozin, who regularly expresses his support for the Russian army in Ukraine on social networks.
He published a map of the locations where the ISS could possibly crash and said that it was unlikely to hit Russia.
“But the populations of other countries, especially those led by the 'dogs of war', should think about the price of the sanctions against Roscosmos”, he said, describing the countries who imposed sanctions as “crazy".
Mr Rogozin raised the threat of the space station falling to earth on Twitter last month while criticising western sanctions.
On March 1, Nasa said it was trying to find a solution to keep the ISS in orbit without Russia's help.
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Police officers detain a woman in central Moscow, during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP -
Children look at phones as people who fled the conflict in Ukraine wait outside an immigration office in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters -
Soldiers stand next to a bus with a damaged windscreen, after an attack on the Yavoriv military base, in Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
A soldier waits at a hospital after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters -
A wounded soldier is transported by medical workers, at a hospital in Novoyavorivsk, after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters -
Rescuers work at the site of an accident after a bus that was carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned near Forli, central Italy. One person died in the crash. AFP -
A man wounded in the air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital. Getty Images -
Paramedics find low ground after an air-raid siren sounds on the outskirts of Novoiavorivsk. Getty Images -
A view of a residential building damaged during an air strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A tram damaged by shelling sits at a depot, in Kharkiv. AP -
An abandoned doll next to a car riddled with bullets in Irpin, north of Kyiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier holds a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon that was used to destroy a Russian armoured personal carrier in Irpin. AFP -
Residents try to strengthen the wall of a house damaged by recent shelling, on the outskirts Kyiv. AFP -
Firefighters extinguish a blaze at a house after shelling in Kyiv. AFP -
A convoy of pro-Russian troops outside the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke from shelling rises behind a wreath at a cemetery in Vasylkiv, south-west of Kyiv. AP -
A woman stands outside a local hospital, damaged during fighting in Volnovakha. Reuters -
People gather in the basement of a local hospital, which was damaged during clashes in Volnovakha. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier leaves a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AFP -
A finance police officer boards Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's superyacht, which has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, Italy. Reuters -
A Russian KA-52 gunship strikes a Ukrainian military object. AFP -
Bystanders watch what appears to be Russian forces arresting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Firefighters battle a blaze at a warehouse storing frozen products hit by shelling in Kvitneve, Kyiv region. Reuters -
A soldier loads the cargo hold of a chartered Boeing 747 airplane with duffle bags belonging to US soldiers, during their deployment to Europe, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. AP -
Two young girls pray for peace in Ukraine at Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery. AP Photo -
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces walks on the debris of a car wash destroyed by Russian bombing in Baryshivka, east of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Volunteers pass an improvised path under a destroyed bridge as they help an elderly resident in Irpin, north-west Kyiv. AP Photo -
A woman who was evacuated from Irpin kisses a cat wrapped in a blanket at a triage point in Kyiv. AP Photo -
An explosion is seen in an apartment building after a Russian army tank fires in Mariupol. AP Photo -
A Russian army tank moves through a street on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo -
Tonya Steyn, office manager and volunteer co-ordinator, sorts through medical supplies at the non-governmental organisation, SOS International headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP -
An overview of damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP -
The destroyed main building of school number 25, after being bombed in Zhytomyr. EPA -
A supporter holds a sign to support Ukraine during Paris' mayor and 'Socialist party' (PS) presidential candidate's campaign meeting in Rennes, western France. AFP
Crews and supplies are transported to the Russian segment by Soyuz spacecraft.
But Mr Rogozin said the launcher used for take-off had been “under US sanctions since 2021 and under EU and Canadian sanctions since 2022".
Roscosmos said it had contacted Nasa, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency “demanding the lifting of illegal sanctions against our companies".
Space is one of the remaining areas where the US and Russia continue to co-operate.
At the beginning of March, Roscosmos announced its intention to make the construction of military satellites a priority as Russia finds itself isolated as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Mr Rogozin also announced that Moscow would no longer supply engines for the US Atlas and Antares rockets.
“Let them soar into space on their broomsticks,” he wrote.
US astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, are scheduled to return to Earth from the ISS on-board a Soyuz spacecraft on March 30.
