cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4856698

Archived version

A senior official from a Moscow based global satellite organisation has flown to Australia to discuss the “threat and use of force” in space, angering the local Ukrainian community which is demanding to know why she was granted a visa.

Elina Morozova, executive director of Intersputnik, is among several Russian Federation representatives to attend this week’s International Astronautical Congress being held in Sydney.

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In 2021 Australia joined other nations in condemning Russia for conducting a “provocative and dangerous” anti-satellite weapon test that produced over 1500 pieces of debris that threatened other satellites and the International Space Station.

Numerous recent reports including a study published by the RAND Corporation in the United States in May have highlighted how “space-based services and the disruption of these services have played an unprecedented role in the ongoing war in Ukraine”.

The Nightly understands several other Russian delegates who had been scheduled to participate at this week’s astronautical congress were denied entry into Australia because of possible links to military programs as the war in Ukraine continues.

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“Frankly, as a community, we are appalled that delegates from Russian science and research institutions have been allowed to enter Australia,” says Kateryna Argyrou, the Chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations.

“These are not neutral academics — their research underpins Russia’s weapons systems, which are killing Ukrainians every day.”

“It is a double standard for the Government to claim it ‘stands with Ukraine’ while offering a platform for information exchange and legitimacy to enablers of Russian war crimes,” Ms Argyrou told The Nightly.

“We must not forget that every representative of the Russian Federation is a representative of a genocidal regime.”