Europe 1 with AFP 11:55 a.m., February 27, 2022
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Sunday that Belgium will close its airspace to "all Russian companies", following the lead of many other European countries in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
In retaliation, Moscow began to prohibit the overflight of its territory to planes linked to these countries.
Belgium will close its airspace to "all Russian companies", following in the footsteps of many other European countries in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Sunday.
"In Europe the skies are open, but open to those who connect people, not to those who commit brutal aggression," he tweeted.
Belgium has decided to close its airspace to all Russian airlines.
Our European skies are open skies.
They're open for those who connect people, not for those who seek to brutally aggress.
— Alexander De Croo (@alexanderdecroo) February 27, 2022
Moscow takes similar sanctions in response
Belgium joins Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Moldova and the United Kingdom, which have already announced a similar sanction.
In retaliation, Moscow has begun to ban aircraft linked to these European countries from flying over its territory, including transit flights.
Lufthansa, the leading European group with the brands Lufthansa, Condor, Swiss, Brussel Airlines, said it expected such retaliatory measures against its planes and already decided on Saturday to suspend its flights to and over Russia for a week.
Germany has also announced that it will close its airspace from 2 p.m. on Sunday to Russian companies.