The Ukrainian government has banned all Russian airlines from crossing its airspace
Ukraine on Wednesday banned all Russian airlines from crossing its airspace. This is the latest escalation between the two neighbours 19 months into a separatist war in the east of the former Soviet state.
According to AFP, the announcement by Ukraine’s pro-Western government came only moments after Russia said it was once again halting gas shipments to energy-dependent Ukraine starting from Thursday.
The two measures not only underscore the acrimonious nature of the countries’ relations but also highlight how difficult one of Europe’s deadliest crises since the Balkans Wars of the 1990s may be to resolve.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a televised cabinet meeting that the flight ban was justified because “Russia might use Ukrainian airspace to stage provocations."
He also said: “This is an issue of our country’s national security — a response to the Russian Federation and its aggressive actions.”
It will be recalled that Ukraine on October 25 barred most Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine — a decision that prompted immediate reciprocal measures by Moscow.
But President Petro Poroshenko’s government had at the time allowed Russian airlines to cross Ukrainian airspace to other destinations.
Yatsenyuk said the new decision came “in part as result of the escalation of the military and geopolitical situation”.