Ukraine closes its airspace to all Russian aircraft

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers decided on Nov. 25 to completely close Ukrainian airspace to all Russian aircraft starting midnight Nov. 26. Ukraine had been hoping for Russia to engage in a constructive dialogue on air transit, particularly removing its prohibitions imposed last year on flights by Ukrainian aircraft, to no avail, said Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. “The decision is also being made as a consequence of the significant aggravation of the military and foreign policy situation,” he said.

The Ukrainian air industry losses from closing Ukrainian airspace to Russian aircraft will range between EUR 25-30 mln annually, estimated on Nov. 25 Andriy Pyvovarskiy, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister. The Russian side has the potential to lose more since it will have to alter its flight plans, he said.

Zenon Zawada: The decision of the Turkish military to shoot down a Russian fighter plane gave the Ukrainian government the pretext and impetus to execute this measure, which it wanted to do but had been hesitant. The Russian-Ukrainian war is escalating on the economic front and the losses will be just as devastating as on the military front. Yet Putin is not relenting and the likelihood for drastic measures is increasing with the intensifying pressure, now on the economic front.