The Russian space agency said that Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) program after 2024. The decision comes when the West isolates Russia in trade and finance over the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

For months, Roscosmos’s leadership has threatened to withdraw from the International Space Station, raising concerns that Western sanctions could undermine Russian cooperation at the orbiting laboratory. The latest statement from Yuri Borisov, the new head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, underscores the disintegration of space cooperation.

“The decision to leave the space station after 2024 has been taken,” said Yuri Borisov, the current head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, according to space.com.

Russia is reportedly looking into potential projects that could replace the International Space Station after 2024 and is currently working to extend the operation beyond 2024. Previously, the International Space Station’s expiry date was set for 2024, but it has now gone one step further.

After Vladimir Putin personally ousted the latter, Borisov replaced Dmitry Rogozin as head of Roscosmos. Borisov, a former deputy Prime Minister with a military background, is known for his bombastic rhetoric and eccentric nationalist behaviour.

Borisov called the decision to build Russia’s space station alone “raises the bar for the space industry.” He also mentioned that this is the “main priority” of Russia’s space programme.

So far, space exploration is one of the few areas where cooperation between Russia, the United States and its allies has not been affected by ongoing tensions in Ukraine and elsewhere. However, with this announcement, the collaboration appears to be drawing to a close.

The International Space Station is the largest modular space station in low Earth orbit. The International Space Station is a collaborative project involving five participating space agencies – NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).