Yuri Mihalkov is the Russian member of the Debris team of Planetes. Calm, stoic, kind and compassionate, Yuri often acts as the level head of the group. It is often speculated that Yuri's name is a reference to Yuri Gagarin and Nikita Mihalkov. In the anime, Yuri and the Debris Section Office Staff are responsible for looking after the ISPV 7's resident animals.
Several years before the events of the story, he and his wife were in a low-orbit craft traveling to England when a small bolt slammed into one of the ship's windows at high velocity, causing the plane to depressurize and make an emergency landing. Many died in the highly publicized incident, including Yuri's wife, who was never found. The incident and Yuri's desire to recover his wife's lost keepsake, a compass she wore around her neck, drives him to collect more debris.
