All means are good and to continue to put pressure on Moscow and compel Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. The three Baltic countries, bordering Russia, have decided to close their airspace to Russian planes from midnight, universal time.
From our correspondent in Vilnius, Marielle Vitureau
As the Lithuanian Minister of Transport admitted, for the past few days there has been increasing pressure for his country to adopt this measure. “ I received hundreds of phone calls, messages and prompts to do so “, publicly acknowledged Marius Skuodis on social networks.
While this Saturday morning, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland had already closed their airspace to Russia, pressure was strong on the Baltic countries to join them. Latvia and Estonia were the first to announce their intentions.
Isolate Russia
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas justified this decision on Twitter: “ There can be no place for the planes of an aggressor country in democratic skies “, did she say. According to her, this measure is essential, because it is necessary to isolate Russia after this brutal attack.
#Estonia is banning Russian airlines from our airspace. We invite all EU countries to do the same. There is no place for planes of the aggressor state in democratic skies. #StandWithUkraine
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) February 26, 2022
As with many decisions regarding reactions to the war in Ukraine, the three Baltic states chose to react together to lend weight to their actions. At the end of the day, the Councils of Ministers met to ratify their decision.