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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Sophie Halle-Richards

Russia bans all UK flights to and over the country in retaliation for a British block on Aeroflot

Russia's Civil Aviation Authority has banned all UK flights to and over the country.

It comes after Boris Johnson announced a block on any aircraft from Russia's largest airline from entering the country in response to Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.

Mr Johnson said he was sanctioning "all the major manufacturers that support Putin's war machine," which included a ban on Aeroflot from touching down planes in the UK and freezing the assets of all major Russian banks.

READ MORE: Hundreds including Man City star turn out for Ukraine vigil

There will now be a ban on all Aeroflot flights within the UK both entering and exiting the nation.

In retaliation, Russia's Civil Aviation Authority have now announced a ban on all flights from the UK to and over the country from today (Friday, 25 February).

Manchester United, who had been sponsored by Aeroflot and provided planes by the airline since 2013, also appear to have ended their relationship with the company, the Mirror reports.

The club did not use Aeroflot for their midweek Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.

Rosaviatsiya, the The Federal Agency for Air Transport in Russia, confirmed that all flights by UK carriers to Russia as well as transit flights have now been banned.

It said the measure was taken in response to the "unfriendly decisions" by the British authorities.

The response is the first of what are expected to be a series of counter sanctions by President Vladimir Putin.

Appearing on breakfast television this morning, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he believes that "further financial restrictions" against Russia are still needed.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Sir Keir said he supported the Government’s package of sanctions announced on Thursday but called for extra measures.

He said the UK should "break open" shell companies in Britain providing support to Vladimir Putin and target Russia via Swift, an international financial system.

Reacting to news that Russian troops were nearing Kyiv, Sir Keir said the situation was "extremely serious" and Britain should be "absolutely clear" in its stance.

"We have to stand together with our allies, particularly Nato, and it’s very important we must stand together as one United Kingdom, and therefore yesterday was significant in Parliament because all political parties spoke with one voice in our support for Ukraine and our support for Nato.

"In relation to the sanctions, I thought what the Government put forward earlier this week was not strong enough. They came forward yesterday with a stronger package and I was able to say that we, the opposition, will support those further sanctions.

"I do want to go further. I think that we do need further financial restrictions, particularly the Swift mechanism. I also think we’ve got to break open the shell companies we have here in the UK that are providing financial support for Putin."

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