Can astronauts return to Earth from the ISS without Russia?

Yes. I think many of the people posting here are under the false impression that Soyuz modules drop off our astronauts, then return to earth without leaving any Soyuz modules attached to the station. read more

So, if the question is, “can astronauts on the ISS return to Earth without requiring Russian cooperation” the answer is yes, yes they can. They just hop in, launch, and pilot the ships down. They wouldn’t even have to pick Russian soil as a landing zone, anywhere on the flight path would be possible. read more

Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth on Wednesday, rounding off a mission of more than five months aboard the International Space Station. Alexander Misurkin of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency and NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba touched down on steppe land southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan at the expected time of 0231 GMT. read more

Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth on Wednesday, rounding off a mission of more than five months aboard the International Space Station. read more