Airlines had begun suspending flights to Ukraine and the country’s government reportedly banned entry to Russian citizens over fears of a possible invasion.
As some carriers reviewed their services to the country after the United States warned that Russia could invade at any time, Ukraine has pledged hundreds of millions of pounds to try to keep its airspace open to commercial flights.
Dutch carrier KLM announced it was stopping flights to and from the country until further notice. This despite sensitivity in the Netherlands to potential danger in Ukrainian airspace following the 2014 shooting down of jetliner MH17 as it flew over territory held by Russia-backed rebels.
The flight resulted in the death of all 298 people aboard including 198 Dutch citizens, while Russia was widely condemned as being responsible. Germany’s Lufthansa also said on Sunday it was considering suspending flights.
Ukrainian carrier SkyUp was reportedly forced to divert a flight to Moldova as the leasing company which owned the plane refused to let it enter Ukrainian airspace.
International fears of a large-scale Russian invasion now risks closing transport routes out of Ukraine. Avianews warned that Ukraine could soon become a ‘no-fly zone’ for commercial aircraft.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry has said airlines were continuing to operate ‘without any restrictions’, and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the government had allocated 16.6 billion hryvnias (£436 million) to guarantee the continuation of flights through its airspace.
‘This decision will stabilise the situation on the market of passenger air transportation and will guarantee the return to Ukraine of our citizens who are currently abroad,’ he said, without specifying how the funds would be allocated.
Viktor Tatarintsev told Sweden’s Aftonbladet in a report that ‘the more the West pushes Russia, the stronger the Russian response will be’.
Tatarintsev claimed Russia had become more ‘self-sufficient’ amid the threat of sanctions and accused the West of not understanding his country.
‘We are more self-sufficient and have been able to increase our exports. We have no Italian or Swiss cheeses, but we’ve learned to make just as good Russian cheeses using Italian and Swiss recipes’, he said.
