Ukraine bans all flights to Russia

The Ukrainian government has banned all unscheduled direct flights to Russia following a recent visit to Moscow by two opposition politicians.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced the ban on Wednesday and said opposition presidential candidate Yuriy Boyko and chairman of the political council of the ‘Opposition Platform – For Life’ alliance Viktor Medvedchuk used a “loophole in our legislation” to take direct flight to the Russian capital in March.

The two Ukrainian opposition figures had met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Alexey Miller, the CEO of the Gazprom energy giant, on March 22 prior to the presidential election, for talks on ways to restore economic ties.

“He [Boyko] took advantage of a loophole in our legislation, got the green light from Russia’s FSB (Federal Security Service), and flew from Kyiv to Moscow for talks with the aggressor state’s prime minister; therefore, we propose a resolution to amend regulations on the use of the Ukrainian airspace,” Ukrainian media cited Avakov as saying.

Direct flights between Russia and Ukraine were canceled in October 2015 as part of a mutual ban imposed by Kiev and Moscow, a year after a bloody crisis broke out in Ukraine’s eastern Russian-speaking regions, where the Ukrainian military has been fighting with pro-Russia forces.

The Ukrainian minister further said the ban would not apply to flights that might be arranged for international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Opposition blasts ‘absurd’ ban

The Opposition Platform - For Life party lambasted the cabinet’s “absurd” decision in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers of Groysman is in agony, just like the authorities, and are fully aware that the negotiations between Viktor Medvedchuk, Yuri Boyko and Russian top officials have every chance of being successful. Which will, in turn, lead to a tariff reduction for ordinary Ukrainians and the inevitable prosecution of officials who enrich themselves using corruption schemes,” the statement read.

The opposition considered the ban as an attempt to impose “personal sanctions” against Boyko and Medvedchuk and to take revenge for their political stance “instead of addressing the raging issues of reducing utility bills for the public, ensuring social protection for the citizenry and normalizing the economic situation in Ukraine.”

SS