The UK Government has announced a new set of aviation sanctions and laws against Russia, which includes giving Ministers the right to detain any Russian aircraft that flies through or is stationed in the UK.
Whilst Russian aircraft were already banned from UK airspace; the Government has now declared a new legislation that deems it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly over or land in the UK. The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, spoke of the reason behind the new laws, she stated:
“Banning Russian flagged planes from the UK and making it a criminal offence to fly them will inflict more economic pain on Russia and those close to the Kremlin.
We will continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, economically and defensively in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion, and work to isolate Russia on the international stage.”
Any Russian owned aircraft that is registered and currently stationed in the UK can now be detained. Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, tweeted:
“BREAKING: I have made it a criminal offence for ANY Russian aircraft to enter UK airspace and now HMG can detain these jets. We will suffocate Putin’s cronies’ ability to continue living as normal while thousands of innocent people die.”
Key points from Grant Shapp’s letter to UK airports include:
- Allowing air traffic control to “issue directions to a pilot or operator of a Russian aircraft not to enter UK airspace, or to leave it by a certain route”.
- “Restricting Russia’s economic interests and holding the Russian government to account.”
- “The Department for Transport does not consider it appropriate for Russian aircraft to enter UK airspace or land at UK airports.”
Speaking of the new bans outlined above, Grant Shapps said:
“Putin must fail and so we were one of the first countries to ban Russian aircraft and today we are going even further by making it a criminal offence for Russian aircraft to operate in UK airspace.
We will always work to deny Putin and his cronies the right to continue as normal while innocent Ukrainians suffer.”
Do you think the new laws will help tighten the economic pressure on Russia? Let us know in the comments below.
