Russia bans flights from 36 nations in response to travel curbs by European countries

After several countries barred Russian planes on their airspaces following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russia declared on Monday, February 28, that it has put a ban on flights by airlines from as many as 36 countries. The United Kingdom, as well as Germany, are also among countries whose flights have been banned by Russia.

According to Russia's civil aviation authority, the decision was taken as a retaliatory measure for the ban by European states on flights operated by Russian airlines or registered in Russia, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Earlier on Sunday, February 27, Canada and other European countries announced that they had closed their airspace to Russian planes in a bid to put pressure on President Vladimir Putin to put an end to his attack on Ukraine.

As per media reports, European countries such as Italy, Germany, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Finland, Norway, Portugal and Spain have imposed a ban on Russian flights. Canada's transport minister, Omar Alghabra, stated that the government was closing its airspace to all Russian flights to penalise Russia for its unjustifiable strike on its former Soviet ally. "All Russian aircraft operators are prohibited from flying in Canada's airspace with immediate effect. Russia is responsible for its unprovoked strikes on Ukraine," he added, as per CNN. 

President Zelenskyy asks Russian forces to leave Ukraine

In his recent speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Russian forces to "save their lives" and leave his nation. He also contacted the European Union (EU) and requested that it consider an immediate accession for Ukraine to be part of the alliance under a new special procedure.

This came on Monday ahead of a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Belarus. Meanwhile, Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, also stated that his country has sought for EU membership using a special procedure.

Russia-Ukraine war

It should be mentioned here that after weeks of escalating tensions, Russia launched a special military operation on February 24 in Ukraine. According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia continued to fire on military and civilian airfields, air defence facilities, important infrastructure, and settlements, for the fifth consecutive day.

It further stated that Russia launched a missile strike on residential premises in Zhytomyr in violation of international law. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian foreign ministry claimed that at least 352 civilians have lost their lives in the invasion including 14 children and 1,684 others have been injured. 

(Image: AP/Representative)