Russia says it will quit the International Space Station amid Ukraine war
Russia said Tuesday it will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024, a move that comes amid tensions with the West over the war in Ukraine.
Russia said Tuesday it will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024, signaling the end of a joint project that has served as a key symbol of post-Cold War cooperation with Washington.
The move comes as Moscow and the West clash over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, and casts new doubt over the future of global collaboration in space. Russia has intimated that it sees its future as primarily a cooperative effort with the Chinese space program rather than NASA, its main partner of the last 25 years.
The head of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the country would exit the ISS and focus on building its own space station, according to state media.
"The decision on withdrawal from this station after 2024 has been made,” newly appointed Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov said, according to the Tass news agency.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday afternoon that the agency plans to continue operating the orbiting outpost through the end of the decade.
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