Russian aircraft are not prohibited from flying on transit through Ukrainian territory if they are not transporting weapons and dual-use goods despite the fact that both countries have imposed sanctions against each other’s airlines. Infrastructure Minister Andrii Pyvovarskyi announced this to journalists after a Cabinet of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, 13 October, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.
As reported, a decree that President Petro Poroshenko signed on 16 September introduced the National Security and Defense Council’s decision of 2 September that imposed sanctions on Russia. The sanctions list includes major Russian airlines such as Aeroflot, Transaero, and S7 Airlines, as well as smaller airlines.
The UTair airline, which did not operate flights to the Crimea, is the only major Russian airline not on the sanctions list. On 25 September, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to ban the Russian airlines on the sanctions list from flying to Ukraine from 25 October, the beginning of the winter flying season.
On 29 September, it emerged that Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency has decided to ban Ukrainian airlines from flying to Russia from 25 October. The legal basis for this decision was not published. After the Russian agency explained the reasons for this decision to the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, the latter also decided to close the Ukrainian territory to flights by all Russian airlines.
