Russia removes flags of countries from rocket, retains India's tricolour

As Russia faces severe global backlash over its full-scale attack on Ukraine, a video shared on Twitter by Russian space agency (Roscosmos) chief Dmitry Rogozin on Wednesday showed workers covering the flags of Japan, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) on a Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

However, the Indian flag remained untouched.

Japan, the US and the UK have imposed economic sanctions on Russia, while India has refrained from directly criticising Moscow for it actions.

At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on Wednesday, India also abstained from voting on the resolution against Russia. The Indian government has, instead, repeatedly called for both sides (Russia and Ukraine) to work out a peaceful agreement.

According to media reports, the Soyuz rocket carrying 36 OneWeb satellites was to launch on March 4 (Friday). But Roscosmos later said that the launch will not happen as per plan.

OneWeb is a global communications company that delivers broadband internet services worldwide. It is partially owned by the British government and the list of owners also includes Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank among others.

According to a report, the British government is under pressure to pull the launch of the rocket given the escalating war in Ukraine. The government said it is continuing to discuss the situation with its partners on OneWeb's board, sources report added.