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Houston – Tensions between Russia and the West are also rising aboard the International Space Station. Three Russians remain on the space station: Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin. Two other Russian cosmonauts have previously been sent back to Earth for their behavior.
The International Space Station is the last place where Americans and Russians still work together. Or rather, where they should work together, because due to tensions between the two countries, there is no longer any camaraderie on board the ISS.
“The atmosphere has changed because of the war in Ukraine,” says US astronaut Michael Barratt, also on board the ISS. “The Russians are trying to make our lives miserable in all sorts of ways. For example, they don’t flush the toilet after a big mission. Just to make it go away. And then there’s the whole space station stinking of shit. You can’t open a window here.”
According to Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, the Americans are the ones to blame for the bullying. “After dinner, they always leave dirty dishes in the sink so we have to wash them,” Kononenko complains. “And at night they press the alarm button. And then you laugh. Very childish.”
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