On Friday, three cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station, having launched aboard a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and harsh Western sanctions, the International Space Station partnership has remained intact so far. Operations between Roscosmos and NASA were smooth on Friday.

There was a surprise, however, as cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov floated onto the space station and greeted their Russian, US, and European colleagues already on board. The new arrivals were wearing yellow flight suits with blue highlights, a uniform that bore a strong resemblance to the flag of Ukraine.

The attire raised a lot of eyebrows, and it was not immediately clear why the cosmonauts wore the uncharacteristically yellow flight suits. Subsequently, there were news stories and opinions expressed on social media that the cosmonauts had worn the suits in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.