Behind Roscosmos’s peaceful façade lies its active role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The agency continues to serve as a convenient tool for the Russian armed forces, participating in both direct military operations and covert activities that are difficult to trace, as reported by Defence Express.
Newly appointed Roscosmos head Dmytro Bakanov revealed that “during the special military operation, the Russian space agency suffered significant losses.” According to him, 342 Roscosmos employees were injured while performing combat missions, and 105 were either killed or went missing. These figures were announced by Bakanov at a concert dedicated to Cosmonautics Day in Moscow.
In addition, the head of Roscosmos stated that over a thousand space industry employees have been directly involved in the war. While their specific roles and duties were not clearly defined, he emphasized the importance of the agency’s satellite systems, which provide Russian troops with real-time intelligence data. One of the individuals mentioned was Artur Potapov, a Roscosmos specialist who also served as a special forces fighter in the Russian Airborne Troops.
Earlier, RUSI explored Roscosmos' role in the russian defense-industrial complex in depth. Officially a space research institution on par with NASA and the European Space Agency, Roscosmos has a long-standing history of cooperating with the defense industry. Particularly, as a legitimate contractor of defense orders, including production of various ballistic and cruise missiles for national Strategic Nuclear Forces, missile fuel, launchers, and even artillery systems.
It is worth noting that Dmytro Bakanov replaced Yuri Borisov as chairman on February 6, 2025, following a high-profile corruption scandal involving the construction of the Khrunichev National Space Center. The project has been plagued by significant delays and implementation issues.
