Russian cosmonauts celebrate capture of Ukraine’s Luhansk region in space

Russian cosmonauts on board the International Space Station have celebrated Russia’s capture of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, a significant milestone for Moscow in the war.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, described Moscow’s capture of the Luhansk region as “a liberation day to celebrate both on Earth and in space”.

The agency posted pictures of cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov smiling as they held up flags of Russia’s proxies in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic.

“This is a long-awaited day that the residents of the occupied areas of the Luhansk region had been waiting eight years for,” Roscosmos wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“We are convinced that July 3, 2022, will forever remain in the history of the (Luhansk People’s) Republic.”