EU will close its airspace for Russian airlines | News from Germany about Europe

The European Union intends to close its airspace to every Russian airliner, including the private jets of the oligarchs. This was announced on Sunday, February 27, in Brussels by the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen (Ursula von der Leyen).

Previously, a number of individual EU countries have already closed the airspace for Russian airlines, including Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland. Germany also announced its intention to do so. Rosaviatsia in response began to close Russian airspace for airlines from these countries.

In addition, according to von der Leyen, the European Union will finance the purchase and supply of weapons to Ukraine. The head of the European Commission stressed that the EU is taking this step for the first time in its history.

Russia Today and Sputnik to be banned

Also, Brussels’ response to Moscow’s actions includes a ban on the Russian state media RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries in EU countries, the head of the EC said. They “will no longer be able to spread their lies justifying Putin’s war and dividing our alliance,” Ursula von der Leyen stressed.

Against the background of the war in Ukraine

In recent weeks, the situation in Ukraine has seriously deteriorated. On February 19, the separatist “LNR” and “DNR” turned to Russia with a request to recognize their independence. Two days later, on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing their sovereignty, and on February 24 he launched a war against Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation” to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine and to protect the inhabitants of Donbass, who for eight years ” subjected to genocide.” On February 27, Putin ordered the containment forces of the Russian Armed Forces to be transferred to a special mode of combat duty, allowing the use of nuclear weapons. In response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, Western countries began to impose sanctions against Moscow.

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What US and EU sanctions apply to Russia
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What US and EU sanctions apply to Russia
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EU sanctions for the poisoning of Navalny
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The second package of sanctions for the poisoning of the Skripals
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The first sanctions in the history of the European Union for the use of chemical weapons
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US sanctions against security forces
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What US and EU sanctions apply to Russia
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Author: Irina Filatova, Vitaly Kropman