Russians board International Space Station in Ukrainian colours

Russian cosmonauts Denis Matveyev, Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov docked at the ISS after a three-hour flight which blasted off from a Russian-owned facility in Kazakhstan.

"Congratulations on the successful docking," a voice from Russia's mission control said moments later.

A few hours later, two sets of hatches were opened and the three smiling men floated into the space station one by one wearing bright yellow space suits with blue accents.

The standard-issue Russian uniform is plain blue, and at least one of the men was seen wearing this before take-off. read more