Today, the European Union announced that it would close EU airspace to all Russian-owned, Russian registered, or Russian-controlled aircraft, including private aircraft owned by the Russian elite. The bloc’s move follows similar measures adopted by a growing number of Member States in recent days.
The EU will also impose sanctions on Russia Today and Sputnik, two Russian government media outlets, limiting those companies’ ability to operate in Europe.
In the same announcement, the EU indicated that it will impose sanctions on critical sectors of the Belarusian economy. The measures include sanctions designed to “stop [Belarusian] exports of products from mineral fuels to tobacco, wood and timber, cement, iron and steel,” according to a statement released by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.