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Top Baikonur official shrugs off sanctions threat over Donbass-dedicated launch

The launch of a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-20 spacecraft is scheduled for June 3

BAIKONUR /Kazakhstan/, June 2. /TASS/. Baikonur’s city administration head Konstantin Busygin won’t be intimidated by any threat of personal sanctions that may be imposed against him over the upcoming space launch dedicated to Donbass, as he himself said in an interview with TASS.

"Why should I be afraid of personal sanctions? I have expressed my position before and I am making no secret of it. If there are sanctions, then, so be it. I work here based on the instructions and decisions of two presidents and I view my job as extremely vital and responsible," he emphasized. "I primarily work for Russia’s benefit. There has been a trend to punish people with sanctions for that but I won’t be intimidated by such restrictions," Busygin added.

The administration chief noted that his post was the only one where candidates were appointed by the Russian president and approved by the Kazakh president.

The launch of a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-20 spacecraft is scheduled for 12:32 pm Moscow time on June 3. The second stage of the rocket bears the inscription "Donbass" and its nose cone has the flags of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics painted on it.

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