Russia suspends Soyuz rocket launches over European sanctions

by Shivendra Singh · February 26, 2022

Soyuz-ST rocket carrying 5 satellites launched from Guiana Space Centre

Roscosmos will withdraw all 87 employees from the Guiana Space Centre. | Photo by Sergei SavostyanovTASS via Getty Images

Russian space agency Roscosmos has announced that it’s temporarily halting Soyuz rocket launches in French Guiana due to sanctions imposed by the European Union, according to a report by Space.com.

“Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou Cosmodrome and withdrawing its personnel, including the consolidated launch crew, from French Guiana,” a translated tweet from the agency reads on Twitter. Roscosmos says it’s working on a plan to withdraw all 87 of its staff from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, who assisted with Soyuz rocket launches for Roscosmos and other Russian companies.