Western sanctions against Russia could cause the International Space Station to come crashing down on Earth, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos warned on Saturday.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said there was an urgent need for the sanctions to be lifted as they could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS and keeping it in orbit.

The Russian segment of the station — which helps correct its orbit — could be affected, causing the 500-tonne structure to "fall down into the sea or onto land", the Roscosmos chief wrote on Telegram.

"The Russian segment ensures that the station's orbit is corrected (on average 11 times a year), including to avoid space debris," said Rogozin.

He posted a map of the locations where the ISS could possibly come down, and said the possible sites were unlikely to be in Russia.

"But the populations of other countries, especially those led by the 'dogs of war', should think about the price of the sanctions against Roscosmos."

Rogozin had raised the threat of the space station falling to Earth last month as well while criticising Western sanctions on Twitter.

On March 1, NASA said it was trying to find a solution to keep the ISS in orbit without Russia's help.

Crews and supplies are transported to the Russian segment by Soyuz spacecraft.

Russia and the United States are the major partners in the ISS program, which also includes Canada, Japan and multiple European nations.

The Russian segment of the ISS is responsible for guidance, navigation and control for the entire complex, according to the European Space Agency.  And Russian Progress cargo craft provide periodic orbit-raising boosts for the ISS, to ensure that it doesn't sink too low into Earth's atmosphere.

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