As someone who deeply believes that tackling injustice begins with taking a stance, this petition holds a personal significance to me due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia has left millions of people distressed and fearing for their lives. The international community is imposing sanctions on Russia as a sign of unanimous disapproval and urging for an immediate ceasefire.

From everyday citizens to world leaders, a shared sentiment of condemnation surrounds Russia. Many nations are beginning to boycott Russia, both politically and economically, and this is where I believe the U.S can make a stronger statement. 

Tensions began to rise as Putin became more authoritarian, and the U.S. pursued policies that Russia viewed as threatening to its security. The U.S. supported the pro-Western government in Georgia, which led to the Russo-Georgian War.

The U.S. missile defense system created another source of tension. Following Putin regaining control of the Russian government in 2012, relations between the two countries were significantly strained due to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Deterioration continued with the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, and over Russia's interference in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, relations reached the lowest point since the end of the Cold War as international sanctions imposed first in 2014 and again in 2022 which significantly expanded by the U.S. and its allies, including both several government-owned banks and oligarchs.

Relations between Russia and the United States are currently undergoing a great crisis, and ties between the two countries could be severed at any moment, the US State Department said Thursday.

The foreign ministry issued a statement reflecting on the relationship between the two countries, in light of the 90th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Russia and the United States.

It said that Russia-U.S. relations are at risk of being severed due to Washington's "Russophobic" course.

"This is not Russia's choice, however, the irresponsible steps being taken by the United States are fueling escalation ... and can lead to catastrophic consequences," the foreign ministry said, adding that Washington was focused on its doctrinal objective of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Moscow.

Russia-U.S. relations have also been largely hampered by the policies of current American political elites, who consider U.S. hegemony and dominance to be the "basic worldview."

The United States is focused on organizing civil unrest and regime change in Russia, and it is investing resources to realize these goals, the statement said. 

Severing diplomatic ties with the Russian Federation means ending all official communication between the two governments. This is usually done as a formal act to express disapproval of another country's policies or actions.  

When diplomatic ties are severed, the following actions typically take place:

Embassy and consulate personnel: Ambassadors and representatives, along with their families, are sent back to their home country.

Embassy property: All embassy property is transported away and the premises are vacated.

Protecting power: The state appoints a protecting power to represent its interests in the other country.

As part of the increasing pressure on Russia, I propose that the U.S. Department of State Embassies in Moscow and the consulates in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok be permanently closed. This decision would symbolize the United States' firm stance against violence and aggression, and showcase our unwavering support for Ukraine. 

The U.S. has consistently championed the sovereignty and autonomy of nations throughout history, and this incident should be no exception. Taking such a step would resonate deeply within international politics and set a precedent for other countries to follow.
The politics of the International Space Station have been affected by superpower rivalries, international treaties, and funding arrangements. The Cold War was an early factor, overtaken in recent years by the United States' distrust of China. The station has an international crew, with the use of their time, and that of equipment on the station, being governed by treaties between participant nations.

In 1972, a milestone was reached in co-operation between the United States and the Soviet Union in space with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The project occurred during a period of détente between the two superpowers, and led in July 1975 to Soyuz 19 docking with an Apollo spacecraft.

From 1978 to 1987, the USSR's Interkosmos program included allied Warsaw Pact countries and countries which were not Soviet allies, such as India, Syria, and France, in crewed and uncrewed missions to Space stations Salyut 6 and 7. In 1986, the USSR extended its co-operation to a dozen countries in the Mir program. From 1994 to 1998, NASA Space Shuttles and crew visited Mir in the Shuttle–Mir program.

In 1998, assembly of the space station began. On 28 January 1998, the Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) was signed. This governs ownership of modules, station usage by participant nations, and responsibilities for station resupply. The signatories were the United States of America, Russia, Japan, Canada, and eleven member states of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom).  With the exception of the United Kingdom, all of the signatories went on to contribute to the Space Station project. A second layer of agreements was then achieved, four memoranda of understanding between NASA and ESA, CSA, RKA and JAXA. These agreements are then further split, such as for the contractual obligations between nations, and trading of partners' rights and obligations. Use of the Russian Orbital Segment is also negotiated at this level.

In 2010, the ESA announced that European countries which were not already part of the program would be allowed access to the station in a three-year trial period.[9]

In March 2012, a meeting in Quebec City between the leaders of the space agencies of Canada, Japan, Russia, the United States, and involved European nations resulted in a renewed pledge to maintain the space station until at least 2020. NASA reports to be still committed to the principles of the mission but also to use the station in new ways, which were not elaborated. CSA President Steve MacLean stated his belief that the station's Canadarm will continue to function properly until 2028, alluding to Canada's likely extension of its involvement beyond 2020.[10]

On 28 March 2015, Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS.[11] Igor Komarov, the head of Russia's Roscosmos, made the announcement with NASA administrator Charles Bolden at his side.[12] In a statement provided to SpaceNews on 28 March, NASA spokesman David Weaver said the agency appreciated the Russian commitment to extending the ISS, but did not confirm any plans for a future space station.[13]

On 30 September 2015, Boeing's contract with NASA as prime contractor for the ISS was extended to 30 September 2020. Part of Boeing's services under the contract related to extending the station's primary structural hardware past 2020 to the end of 2028.[14]

There have also been suggestions in the commercial space industry that the station could be converted to commercial operations after it is retired by government entities.[15]

In July 2018, the Space Frontier Act of 2018 was intended to extend operations of the ISS to 2030. This bill was unanimously approved in the Senate, but failed to pass in the U.S. House.[16][17] In September 2018, the Leading Human Spaceflight Act was introduced with the intent to extend operations of the ISS to 2030, and was confirmed in December 2018.[18][19][20]

On 12 April 2021, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, then-Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov announced he had decided that Russia might withdraw from the ISS programme in 2025.[21][22]According to Russian authorities, the timeframe of the station’s operations has expired and its condition leaves much to be desired.[21]

In January 2022, NASA announced a planned date of January 2031 to de-orbit the ISS and direct any remnants into a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean.[23]

On 24 February 2022, NASA said that American and Russian astronauts currently aboard the ISS would continue normal operations despite the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[24] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson commented on the current status of cooperation, saying "I have been broadly in favour of continuing artistic and scientific collaboration, but in the current circumstances it's hard to see how even those can continue as normal."[25] On the same day, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozininsinuated that Russian withdrawal could cause the International Space Station to de-orbit due to lack of reboost capabilities, writing in a series of tweets, "If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an unguided de-orbit to impact on the territory of the US or Europe? There's also the chance of impact of the 500-ton construction in India or China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS doesn't fly over Russia, so all the risk is yours. Are you ready for it?"[26] (The last claim is not true, as the ISS' orbital inclination of 51.66° allows it to overfly the latitude of Saratov.) Rogozin later tweeted that normal relations between ISS partners could only be restored once sanctions have been lifted, and indicated that Roscosmos would submit proposals to the Russian government on ending cooperation.[27] NASA stated that, if necessary, US corporation Northrop Grummanhas offered a reboost capability that would keep the ISS in orbit.[28]

On 26 July 2022, Borisov, who had become head of Roscosmos, submitted to Putin his plans for withdrawal from the programme after 2024.[29] However, Robyn Gatens, the NASA official in charge of space station operations, responded that NASA had not received any formal notices from Roscosmos concerning withdrawal plans.[30] The United States Congress, in its CHIPS and Science Act signed by President Joe Biden on 9 August, approved extending NASA's funding for the ISS through 2030.[31][32]

On 21 September 2022, Borisov stated that Russia was "highly likely" to continue to participate in the ISS programme until 2028, stating that it would be challenging to start up crewed space missions after such a long pause.[33][34]

The Moscow–Washington hotline(formally known in the United States as the Washington–Moscow Direct Communications Link;[1]Russian: Горячая линия Вашингтон – Москва, romanized: Goryachaya liniya Vashington–Moskva) is a system that allows direct communication between the leaders of the United States and the Russian Federation (formerly the Soviet Union). This hotline was established in 1963 and links the Pentagon with the Kremlin (historically, with Soviet Communist Party leadership across the square from the Kremlin itself).[1][2] Although in popular culture it is known as the "red telephone", the hotline was never a telephone line, and no red phones were used. The first implementation used Teletypeequipment, and shifted to fax machines in 1986.[3] Since 2008, the Moscow–Washington hotline has been a secure computer link over which messages are exchanged by a secure form of email.[4]

At the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States and Russia created a deconfliction line to prevent miscalculations or escalation.[30] In November 2022, an anonymous U.S. official told Reutersthat the line had only been used once in the war. The official said that the line was used to communicate concerns about Russian military operations near Ukrainian infrastructure, but did not elaborate. The official said it was not used when a missile hit Poland.[31]

The first message transmitted over the hotline was on August 30, 1963. Washington sent Moscow the text: "THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG'S BACK 1234567890". The message was sent in all capital letters, since the equipment did not support lowercase.[21] Later, during testing, the Russian translators sent a message asking their American counterparts, "What does it mean when your people say 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog'?"

The primary link was accidentally cut several times, for example near Copenhagen by a Danish bulldozer operator, and by a Finnish farmer who ploughed it up once. Regular testing of both the primary and backup links took place daily.[23]During the even hours, the US sent test messages to the Soviet Union. In the odd hours, the Soviet Union sent test messages to the US. 

Another hotline-type mechanism for formal communications between Washington and Moscow are the US Nuclear Risk Reduction Center and Russian National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, which were initiated by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 following the Reykjavik Summit to reduce the risk of nuclear war.[25] The negotiations began in May 1986, and the sides agreed in 1987.[26] The sides established NRRCs in Washington and in Moscow,[27]exchanging arms control and confidence building measures notifications, initially including those required by the agreement on Measures to Reduce the Risk of Outbreak of Nuclear War and the 1972 Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents on and over the High Seas, with their duties expanding over the decades to include notifications covering more than 16 treaties and agreements.

Nations naturally have different political systems, values, policies and strategic interests. When the differences become too great, countries may decide to break relations. For example, the United States severed ties with Cuba in 1961 due to Cuba’s communist revolution which caused Fidel Castro to rise to power, The ideological divide between capitalism and communism during the Cold War led the two countries to cut off diplomatic engagement.

Severance of Diplomatic Relations
 the cessation of normal diplomatic relations between two states, entailing the recall of diplomatic representatives and the shutting down of diplomatic missions. A severance of diplomatic relations usually occurs as a result of the onset of war (a declaration of war or an armed attack) or during serious complications in relations between states. The severance of diplomatic relations sometimes precedes the outbreak of war.

Following the shuttle’s retirement in 2011, NASA found itself solely reliant on Russian Soyuz capsules to transport astronauts to the ISS. Instead of the agency designing another crewed vehicle to replace the shuttle and then hiring aerospace contractors to build it, NASA decided to hand over most of the reins to the commercial sector under a new Commercial Crew Program. 
 In recent years, the cost per seat on Soyuz has risen to as high as $86 million which is deemed too costly and the technology of the Soyuz is aging rapidly, having been first flown in 1967.

Please sign this petition to allow the U.S. government to close its embassies and consulates in Russia. Let our collective voices echo our disapproval of the current actions of the Russian government, and demonstrate our patriotism with the people of Ukraine, especially with the breaking of diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Russian Federation!