The Russian Ministry of Transport has requested clarification of the essence of the sanctions that Ukraine recently imposed on Russian airlines. Russia’s Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov announced this to journalists on Tuesday, 22 September, the Interfax news agency reports.
"We have already filed a request – the next day after we received public information that they are introducing such a sanctions regime against our airlines," Sokolov said. According to him, a response has not been received from Ukraine.
As reported, President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine signed a decree on imposition of sanctions on "those responsible for … criminal activity against Ukraine" on 18 September. The sanctions list includes 388 individuals and 105 legal entities.
According to the RIA Novosti news agency, the sanctions affect 25 Russian airlines, two of which no longer exist. The affected airlines include the largest airline in Russia, Aeroflot, and three of its subsidiaries, as well as the second largest airline in Russia, Transaero, and the fourth largest airline in the country, Siberia (S7 Airlines). They all face "restrictions, partial or complete termination of transit of resources, flights, and transportation through the territory of Ukraine," but it is still unclear how the sanctions will be applied. Nothing is also known about restrictions by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
According to online flight trackers, Russian airlines are operating flights to Ukrainian cities without problems.
