Ukraine closes its airspace to Russia

Ukraine’s prime minister said his government has decided to close the country’s airspace to all Russian planes, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

Kiev banned all Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine last month, but Russian planes have been allowed to fly over its territory.

The decision to shut the airspace was announced by Arseny Yatsenyuk at a televised government session on Wednesday.

It comes as tensions simmer between Russia and Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year and a separatist war in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 8,000 people and left parts of the industrial heartland in ruins.

The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom announced earlier on Wednesday that it was cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine because the country had not paid in advance for supplies.

Sources: MENA