Ukrainian pilot sentenced to 15 years in prison evades jail by being on International Space Station
A Ukrainian pilot, who has been branded a 'deserter' by Kyiv, has found a hiding place that is out of this world - literally.
Alexey Zubritsky is currently holed up on the International Space Station (ISS) after fleeing the frontline.
The 32-year-old was sentenced in absentia last month and slapped with a 15-year jail term after reportedly abandoning his post.
He was an attack aircraft pilot for Ukraine's 204th Sevastopol Brigade back in 2013, according to the Daily Mail, before he disappeared.
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Zubritsky is said to have defected to Russia after Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in 2014, before going on to serve in the regions of Rostov and Krasnodar.
From there, he ended up being trained as a cosmonaut - and earlier this week, he blasted off into space alongside NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and fellow Roscosmos spaceman Sergey Ryzhikov.
Zubritsky touched down on the ISS on Tuesday (8 April), although it sounds like it might be a tight squeeze, as there's now ten people residing there for the next two weeks.
According to NASA, the space laboratory is bigger than a six-bedroom house and boasts six sleeping areas, two bathrooms and a gym.
But it's designed for seven people to live and work on, rather than ten - although it is capable of hosting larger crews when there is a handover.
Zubritsky has been busy orbiting the Earth all week while Ukrainian commanders are probably on the hunt for him, so it's pretty bold of him to hop on the ISS - especially as his arrival was live-streamed.
He faces immediate arrest in Ukraine and the confiscation of all property for deserting his home country, reports claim.
A prosecutor said of Zubritsky's case: "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]."
The wanted cosmonaut set off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan alongside Kim and Ryzhikov in the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft for the mission.
NASA announced the 'three-hour, two-orbit journey' had been a success, explaining that the trio will join NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Don Pettit, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Ivan Vagner, and Alexey Ovchinin.
Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner will then hop off the ISS next Saturday (19 April) after a seven-month mission, which marks the start of Expedition 73.
It is Zubritsky's first space flight, and according to Russian news outlet TASS, he will also act as a 'special correspondent' for the publication.
Pro-Kremlin media outlet Shot also said of the defector heading to the ISS: "Russians have exceptional respect for Alexey, are happy for his career and send greetings to the ISS."
Zubritsky, Kim and Ryzhikov are scheduled to spend about eight months at the space outpost.
Olivia Burke