Moscow, February 26: The Russian space agency Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with Europe on launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and is recalling its employees from French Guiana in response to sanctions imposed by the European Union, the head of the agency, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Saturday.

"In response to EU sanctions against our enterprises, Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and is recalling its technical personnel, including the combined launch crew, from French Guiana," Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel.

On Friday, the EU Council of Foreign Ministers approved the second package of EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis. On Thursday, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, responding to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for help in countering the aggression of the Ukrainian troops. Russia-Ukraine War: Indian Air Force Exits From Exercise Cobra Warrior 2022 in UK.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

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