Ukrainian Cabinet Bans Private Flights With Russia Except For UN, OSCE Missions

Ukrainian Cabinet banned on Wednesday private flights between Ukraine and Russia except for the ones carried out for maintenance of the missions of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2019) Ukrainian Cabinet banned on Wednesday private flights between Ukraine and Russia except for the ones carried out for maintenance of the missions of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"The ban [introduced earlier] did not cover non-scheduled flights between Ukraine and Russia, carried out on aircraft unregistered in Russia, which created a threat to Ukraine's national security, civil security and order. The draft act introduces a ban on non-scheduled flights, overflights between Ukraine and the aggressor state, with the exception of flights required to support the missions of international organizations of the United Nations, the OSCE and the ICRC.

Please support," Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said during a Cabinet session.

The Cabinet then has voted in favor of the act with no abstentions.

Air traffic between the two neighboring states was suspended in October, 2015 at Kiev's initiative. However, passenger trains between Russia and Ukraine are still running, even though the traffic has significantly decreased in comparison to the levels before the 2014 coup in Kiev. The State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine has said that the Kiev-Moscow train was the most profitable Ukrainian train in 2017 and brought almost $6 million in profits.