Europe and Canada on Sunday moved to close their airspaces for Russian aircraft of all sorts in response to the latter’s aggression and invasion of Ukraine.
This unprecedented move is aimed at pressuring Kremlin to end his invasion of Ukraine and withdrawal of troops.
Russian airlines – known as Aeroflot – said that it would close all flights to the European Union destinations after the E.U. decided to close its airspace for Russian traffic.
🔴 BREAKING: A top EU official has said the bloc will close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund arms supplies to Ukraine and ban pro-Kremlin media
More to follow on our liveblog ⬇️https://t.co/9rnc9UHXw6
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 27, 2022
The United States is also considering such a step to isolate Russia from the global arena.
According to the U.S. officials Washington is considering such a move though no decision has been reached yet.
The U.S. government also advised its people to start leaving Russia as soon as possible on commercial flights as countries started shutting down their airspaces.
Britain, the Nordic and the Baltic states were joined by Germany, Spain and France in barring Russian planes from using their skies.
Shutting down airspaces also aims at further crippling the economy of Russia as the latter is already slapped with severe economic sanctions.
In retaliation, Russia has also blockaded its airspace barring planes from Britain, Poland and Bulgaria from entering its airspace.
Without access to Russia’s airways, experts say carriers will have to divert flights south while also avoiding areas of tension in the Middle East.
