Ukraine Halts Air Traffic with Belarus

The Ukrainian government has approved a decision today to close its airspace to aircraft registered in Belarus starting from midnight on May 29. It is worth noting that as of May 26, Ukraine had already suspended air traffic with Belarus following the forced landing of a plane flying from Athens to Vilnius.

Earlier, a Ryanair aircraft, en route from Athens to Vilnius, altered its course after flying over most of Belarus and nearing the border with Lithuania, heading instead towards Minsk. Minsk airport reported that, according to the pilots, the aircraft was ‘bombed,’ but this information was later denied during inspections. Following the landing, the former chief editor of the NEXTA Telegram channel, recognized as extremist in Belarus, Roman Protasevich, was arrested at the airport.