Ukraine issues seizure orders for 44 more Russian planes because of flights to Crimea
Ukraine has issued seizure orders for another 44 Russian airliners because of flights to annexed Crimea. “The aircraft violated the order of entry/exit to the occupied peninsula and the rules of international flights,” the Ukrainian prosecutor's office for Crimea and Sevastopol said in a statement.
To date, Ukrainian law enforcement officers are investigating violations of international flight rules by foreign airlines' officials and violation of the order of “entry into and out of the temporarily occupied territory”.
The Ukrainian prosecutor's office stressed that since March 2014, Ukraine has closed the airspace over Crimea "due to the inability to monitor the air traffic for flight safety and also ensure flight safety." Kyiv also shut down all the airports on the peninsula.
In total, 109 Russian airliners are under seizure warrants for carrying out regular passenger flights to Crimea, thereby violating international flight rules and Ukrainian law.