Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has a new way of protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Having previously clashed with Russian space agency bosses on Twitter, Kelly has now returned the medal of honor awarded by Russian authorities.
While still an active astronaut, Kelly had boarded the Soyuz spacecraft on two of his trips to the International Space Station (ISS).
Not only that, Kelly also completed a one-year mission with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko from March 2016 to March 2016. Thanks to his achievements, Kelly received a medal of honor from the Russian authorities, but he doesn't want it anymore.
In a tweet in Russian (astronauts flying to the ISS must be fluent in English and Russian) to Dmitry Medvedev, Kelly said he would return the medal to Russia.
"Mr Medvedev, I returned the Russian medal 'For Merit in Space Exploration' that you gave me," Kelly wrote in a tweet.
"Please give the medal to a Russian mother whose child died in this unfair war. I will send the medal to the Russian embassy in Washington. Good luck," he continued.
Medvedev is Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council. She served as President of Russia from 2008 to 2012, and Prime Minister of Russia from 2012 to 2020. Kelly's tweet was a response to Medvedev's tweet about World Women's Day.
This is not the first time Kelly has voiced his protest against Russia's attacks in Ukraine. Previously, he had an argument with the Head of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) Dmitry Rogozin.
"Get out of the way, idiot!" said Rogozin in a tweet. "Otherwise, the death of the ISS will be your responsibility," he said. But not long after, the tweet was immediately deleted.
Kelly then replied in Russian. "Dimon, why delete this tweet?" he said. "Don't want people to know what kind of brat you really are?" quipped Kelly.