Ukrainian deserter dodges fighting for Kyiv – by joining Russia’s cosmonaut program and flying to the International Space Station!
A Ukrainian armed forces pilot who went missing is now hiding from his commanders – on the International Space Station.
Alexey Zubritsky, 32, is listed as a Ukrainian deserter and last month was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail as a traitor.
The pilot flew attack aircraft for Ukraine in the aviation unit of the 204th Sevastopol Brigade in 2013.
When Vladimir Putin illegally grabbed Crimea the following year, Zubritsky joined Russian forces and was later based in Rostov and Krasnodar regions.
He switched to cosmonaut training and blasted off on a Soyuz-2a rocket to the ISS with Russian commander Sergey Ryzhikov and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim.
The rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA said, and took three hours to orbit the earth twice before connecting to the ISS.
The Ukrainian astronaut joined the Expedition 72 crew, made up of NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Don Pettit, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Ivan Vagner, and Alexey Ovchinin.
For his ‘treachery’, Ukrainian-born Zubritsky faces arrest in his home country and the confiscation of all property.
Alexey Zubritsky (pictured, in blue) is listed as a Ukrainian deserter and last month was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail as a traitor
When Vladimir Putin illegally grabbed Crimea the following year, Zubritsky joined Russian forces and was later based in Rostov and Krasnodar regions
Rescuers working at the site of a drone-hit private building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 10 April 2025
At least two people were injured after overnight Russian shelling in Kyiv’s area, according to the State Emergency Service report
‘Having committed high treason and desertion, he joined the armed forces of the Russian Federation, where he is still serving, in particular, as a test cosmonaut, [and] flight engineer of the ISS-72/73 crew [currently in space],’ said the Ukrainian prosecutor.
He is due a seven month-long mission on board the space station, during which the Expedition 72 crew will carry out a series of scientific tests in low orbit.
During his time on the ISS, Zubritsky will help oversee the arrival and departures of visiting cargo vehicles, assist in the upkeep of the space station and take part in hundreds of experiments.
He may also take part in space walks, including two planned by Russian flight controllers to oversee experiments, as well as US-planned missions to upgrade the station’s solar arrays.
He is also said to be working as a ‘special correspondent’ for Russian propaganda outlet TASS, the sixth Russian astronaut to do so.
Pro-Kremlin news outlet SHOT said today: ‘Russians have exceptional respect for Alexey, are happy for his career and send greetings to the ISS.’
