Russia stops Soyuz space rocket launch at European spaceport

The sanctions imposed by the European Union on military operations in Ukraine resulted in the suspension of the launch of the Soyuz space rocket by the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.

Initially the spacecraft was launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana. This has also been confirmed by Roscosmos Head Dmitry Rogozin in a statement on Twitter on Saturday.

"Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in arranging a space launch from the Kourou cosmodrome and withdrawing its personnel, including a consolidated launch crew, from French Guiana," it tweeted.

Quoting Space.com, Monday (28/2/2022), Russia also withdrew 87 of their workers from the spaceport, which supported the launch of Soyuz rockets for Roscosmos and other Russian companies.

"The issue of the departure of Russian employees is being resolved," Roscosmos wrote in a statement.

Russian Soyuz rockets are used by European launch provider Arianespace, to launch satellites from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The last Soyuz rocket launched from the Guiana Space Center took off on February 10 and carried 34 OneWeb internet satellites.

Soyuz Arianespace's next launch is scheduled for early April, and brings two Galileo navigation satellites into orbit for the European Union's constellation Galileo. This mission will almost certainly be delayed.

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Space, said Russia's decision to stop the Soyuz launch had no impact on user services for the Galileo satellite or the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation satellite program.

"I reiterate that this decision has no consequences for the continuity and quality of the services of Galileo and Copernicus," Breton said in a statement.

"This decision also does not jeopardize the sustainable development of this infrastructure," he continued.

Quoted from The Verge, Russia and Europe have also actually prepared a robotic mission to Mars which will take place this year.

European Space Agency director Josef Aschbacher said they would continue to work on all of its programs, including on the ISS and EXOMars launch campaigns, although they would continue to "monitor the situation as it develops."

In addition to temporarily severing ties with Arianespace, Roscosmos also excluded the United States from the joint mission to explore Venus on the Venera-D mission.

According to Rogozin on Saturday local time, continued US participation in the Venera-D mission was "inappropriate" given the sanctions imposed on Russia.

Rogozin also claimed these sanctions would damage relations between Russia and NASA, potentially leading to the downing of the International Space Station.

The Russo-Ukrainian Conflict and Understanding Ukraine's Desire to Join NATO

International concerns about Russia's provocative attitude towards Ukraine persist, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin denies any planned attacks. Putin built more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile, the US and other NATO allies have deployed hundreds of troops to Eastern Europe. The Russian leader has claimed he will step down if Nato bans Ukraine from joining his alliance. A request that NATO has refused.

Alastair Kocho-Williams, Professor of History at Clarkson University in his article in The Conversation explains why Ukraine wants to join NATO and trigger tensions with Russia.

Prevention of Russian aggression Ukraine has partnered with NATO since 1992. The Ukraine-NATO Commission in 1997, as a forum for discussion on security issues and as a way to advance NATO-Ukraine relations – without a formal membership agreement.

Membership with NATO will significantly increase Ukraine's international military support, enable NATO military action inside Ukraine and work alongside its military members. This guarantee of military strength will act as a strong deterrent against Russian aggression.

NATO has clear boundaries about its support for non-member countries. While it has supported non-member countries such as Afghanistan during humanitarian emergencies, NATO has not committed to deploying troops to non-member countries.

Strengthening alliances with the West NATO membership would also draw Ukraine more strongly to Europe, and make it more likely to join the European Union — another policy goal for Ukraine. Membership will also help the country build closer ties with the US. At the same time joining the alliance could pull Ukraine further out of Russia's sphere of influence.

But regional tensions could be exacerbated if Ukraine becomes a NATO member, as Russia says it will interpret the alliance's expansion as a direct threat to its country.

Professor Williams of Clarkson University believes that Ukraine is indeed making progress in gaining NATO membership, but that does not mean that the possibility of joining NATO (if any) can materialize quickly.

All NATO members must unanimously agree on a new state, based on factors such as a functioning democracy and “unresolved external territorial disputes”. As a result, the presence of Russian troops encamped on the Ukrainian border can certainly cause problems.

NATO membership is open to any European country that can "contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region." Countries wishing to become members must follow a “Membership Action Plan”, an application process that requires countries to detail their security and political policies.

It can take 20 years for a country to finalize the plan and get an entry permit, as in the case of North Macedonia.

Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma publicly announced Ukraine's interest in NATO membership in May 2002. Ukraine then put forward a Membership Action Plan in 2008. This process stalled in 2010 under former President Viktor Yanukovych, a Putin-backed politician who does not want to have relations with NATO. .

Ukraine recently revived its plans to join NATO, especially to deal with the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. In 2017, Ukraine adopted a constitutional amendment committed to becoming a NATO member.

Subsequently in 2021, Ukraine adopted a National Security Strategy which aims to develop its NATO partnership. The NATO application process "has dragged on for a very long time," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in September 2021.

According to Williams, an independent and sovereign Ukraine will support NATO's goal of Euro-Atlantic stability, especially since Ukraine has expressed greater urgency to join the alliance than NATO itself.

But with Ukraine entering NATO now it is seen as a problem. Because the threat of an imminent conflict between Ukraine and Russia, could make NATO take military action against Russia.

Baby in Norwegian Town Bø Will Receive USD 5,571 After Birth

The mayor of Bø Norway, Sture Pedersen, announced that he would provide a subsidy of 50,000 kroner or approximately USD 5,571 for each newborn there.

The nominal will be doubled if there are couples who have twins. In fact, it will be tripled if someone gives birth to triplets.

This budget discussion was approved in December 2021. Pedersen made the proposal so that families in Bø, Norway, have an interest in starting a family and having children.

According to Pedersen, the cost of living including raising children there is quite expensive. So the government also provides subsidies. Moreover, they have received an injection of funds.

"We have received capital and want the city to develop. But we are short of manpower. We want to stop the population decline," Pedersen said, quoted by VG, Thursday, February 17, 2022.

Not only that, Pedersen also offers the cheapest and best kindergarten tuition fees there for families. The average price for a kindergarten school nationally is 3,000 kroner or approximately IDR 4.8 million per month.

"We lowered the price to 1,500 kroner per month. That price will drop even further. We also promised a daycare center," Pedersen said.

"I'm just an impulsive mayor, who likes these things to happen," he added.

The first baby to receive subsidies

Kvamme and Marianne Sund have become the first couple to receive a direct subsidy from Pedersen. The couple moved to Bø a few years ago.

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, they became parents. The baby was born at 10.38 and got the first 50,000 kroner from the Bø city government.

The subsidy money has also been transferred from the city government to an account in the name of the baby of the couple Kvamme and Marianne. That way, parents also don't have to pay taxes.

However, in order to avoid overcrowding and ensure that the residents there actually live in the city of B, the money received will be divided into two, namely 25,000 kroner at birth, and a further 25,000 kroner on the child's second birthday.

According to Pedersen, the most important thing about this subsidy lies in its attraction to attract more people to come there.

"It's also very measurable. We usually have about 20 births in a year. Then we will evaluate this scheme over the next few years to see an increase in the birth rate," Pedersen said.