A Russian cosmonaut convicted of treason by a Ukrainian court has joined the latest mission to the International Space Station.
On April 8, 2025, a Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying a three-member crew to the ISS. Among them was 32-year-old Alexey Zubritsky, a former Ukrainian military officer convicted in absentia of state treason.
The launch, which also included Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov and American astronaut Johnny Kim, was part of Russia’s scheduled rotation of its manned missions.
Zubritsky’s presence onboard has drawn international attention after the investigative program Sistema, produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, revealed his background. According to Ukrainian military records, Zubritsky served as a pilot in a Ukrainian air unit based in Crimea before Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula.
Following the occupation, Zubritsky was ordered to report to a new posting on mainland Ukraine. According to the ruling of the Vinnytsia City Court, he failed to report by the May 12, 2014 deadline and did not notify command of his whereabouts, despite being capable and obligated to do so.
The court found that between March and May 2014, Zubritsky “deliberately defected to the enemy side out of personal interest,” the verdict said. He was found guilty of state treason on March 11, 2025.
Since 2014, Zubritsky has reportedly served in multiple Russian air units, including those stationed in occupied Crimea and southern Russia. In 2018, he was accepted into Russia’s cosmonaut training program. By late 2024, Roscosmos listed him as undergoing training at the European Space Agency’s Cologne facility.
Zubritsky is believed to be the first person in space with a standing conviction for state treason.
Neither Roscosmos nor NASA has publicly addressed Zubritsky’s criminal status.
The episode adds a fresh layer to strained relations between Kyiv and Moscow, as Ukraine continues to prosecute defectors from its armed forces and Russia expands symbolic gestures through its space program.