Vladimir Putin probably has a lot on his mind lately. He’s waging war on a country that did nothing to Russia. And he’s a a global pariah to the point where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan president recently kept him waiting and fidgeting through his Botox in front of the whole world. And now, Russia’s quitting the International Space Station.
Yep, it’s true, and this is not a scrapped pilot script for Apple TV+’s All For Mankind. Rather, Putin’s guys are severing Russia’s longstanding relationship with NASA, and the current plan is for Russian astronauts to abandon the orbiting ship in 2024. Granted, Putin didn’t make this official call. Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov did so, and then he informed Putin, who (according to CNN) had one word to say: “Good.”
So much excitement from Putin. Meanwhile, CNN seems skeptical about whether this will really happen:
This is not the first time that Russia has threatened to abandon the ISS amid crippling US and European sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Borisov’s predecessor, Dmitry Rogozin, repeatedly threatened to do so before he was ousted earlier this month.
But this most recent threat has more teeth, and the apparent approval of Putin himself. According to the transcript of a meeting posted to the Kremlin’s website, Putin said “good” after Borisov told him that Roscosmos will begin to build its own space station after 2024.
It’s truly the end of an era of international space cooperation, which somehow lasted for decades but is no more. Perhaps Putin’s actually looking to escape Earth at some point. Stranger things have happened! Even more so than a world leader lashing out while defending shirtless horseback riding photos. He’d better make sure and pack his beloved Botox for the ride.
(Via CNN)