Information about the alleged termination of the Russian manned program due to the incident at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is not true. This was stated by Mikhail Kotov, a member of the public council of Roscosmos and a science journalist. He confirmed that damage to the launch complex did occur, but it will not affect the implementation of manned missions.
According to the expert, during the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, a jet of exhaust gases damaged the service cabin at site 31. According to him, such incidents are not uncommon and are not critical: in world practice, after each launch, a mandatory inspection and minor repair of launch facilities is carried out.
Roscosmos previously clarified that the rocket worked normally, and the ship successfully docked with the International Space Station. Now, specialists are assessing the condition of the complex, identifying damage, and have already begun restoration work. All necessary components and spare parts are available for the repair.
Kotov called the reports of a "disruption of the manned program" an attempt to artificially escalate the situation. He stressed that Roscosmos has sufficient resources and experience to quickly eliminate the consequences of the incident.