Ukrainian officer convicted of treason after defecting to Russia joins crew aboard the ISS

A former Ukrainian military pilot sentenced in absentia for treason has become the first convicted state traitor to join the crew of the International Space Station.

Oleksiy Zubrytskyi, a former Ukrainian army officer convicted of desertion and treason, is now aboard the International Space Station.

Photo: IMAGO/Grigory Sysoev/Imago Stock and People/East News

Oleksiy Zubrytsky, who once held the rank of lieutenant in Ukraine’s armed forces, is now living aboard the ISS after launching on 8 April 2025.

Ukrainian courts found that during Russia’s 2014 occupation of Crimea, he deliberately sided with Moscow and subsequently served in the Russian military for over a decade.

In March this year, a court in Vinnytsia sentenced him to 15 years in prison for actions deemed harmful to Ukraine’s sovereignty and security.

Zubrytsky joined Russia’s cosmonaut corps in 2018 and is reportedly the first space traveller ever convicted of treason.

The current ISS crew includes astronauts from Japan, the United States, and Russia, as well as Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski - the first Pole to visit the station.

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Source: IAR/PAP/PR24