Russian Airliners Shut Out of Several More Nations as Invasion Continues
The world, (well, the non-authoritarian parts of it), are all banding together to try to teach Moscow a lesson, and this weekend saw some of the most intense repercussions for Russia yet.
Not only were there crippling sanctions placed on the whole of Russia, but a number of banking institutions are now cutting Moscow off from the all-important SWIFT financial network.
In addition, a vast number of nations have now made the airspace above them off-limits to Russian airliners.
A growing number of countries announced on Sunday they’re joining a string of nations in closing their airspace to Russian aircraft after Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine.
Officials for Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Iceland all announced the measures that would further isolate Russia. It follows similar restrictions from the U.K., Poland, Romania, Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
The moves by the nations put even more pressure on Russia, with countries banding together to impose wide-reaching sanctions on Russia and its elite. A ban means Russian aircraft can’t fly over or land in the nations that impose the rules, which often means lengthy and costly reroutes.
Putin has responded to the increased global pressure with pure petulance, heightening the specter of nuclear annihilation with all of the grace of a 4th grader who just lost a game of kickball.