The UK government has announced a new raft of aviation sanctions against Russia in its latest response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
British foreign secretary Liz Truss has unveiled new powers to detain Russian aircraft and remove aircraft owned by designated individuals. There is also a new ban on the export of aviation-related goods, technology and technical assistance to Russia.
The government has moved to strengthen the current overflight and landing ban on Russian aircraft, imposed in the wake of the invasion last month. This includes making it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to overfly or land in the UK.
Truss said: “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.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps added: “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.”