Kiev air authorities advise commercial airlines not to fly near the Black Sea
Governments take preventive measures for their citizens.
As a consequence of the Russian military exercises in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian government advised commercial airlines not to fly over that region, starting this Monday, and will last for at least five days.
The Ministry of Infrastructure assured that they will not close the airspace and that the Ukrainian government is working hard to avoid risks on commercial flights.
Cancellation of flights
KLM, an airline from the Netherlands, announced yesterday that it would suspend all its flights within this air territory. On Saturday the first flight of this airline was suspended.
In July 2014, at the time of the annexation of Crimea to Kiev, the MH17 plane was shot down between Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam, killing more than 250 people.
German and Austrian airlines Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines announced over the weekend that they are considering avoiding Ukraine's airspace.
In addition, travel agencies say that flying from Ukraine to other countries will be significantly reduced in the coming hours, since the insurance prices for these flights will reach unaffordable figures.
For a few days, these airlines have eliminated the stay of their crew members on Ukrainian territory. In addition, they minimized the time they are in the country between flights.
Yesterday, a flight from Ireland's Skyup airline was also cancelled. This flight had as its departure point Portugal with arrival in Ukraine, but made an emergency landing in Moldova.
Statements
This weekend, the German Foreign Office made a special statement to its citizens in Ukraine.
He notified that due to the existing tensions as a result of the movement of Russian troops to the Ukrainian border, all non-essential flights to Ukrainian territory "are discouraged".
At the same time, they recommended that Germans residing in Ukraine leave the country.
On the other hand, Austria asked its nationals living in Ukraine to register on a list with their updated data, to facilitate their location and possible evacuation if necessary.
The neighboring countries are preparing for the massive reception of displaced persons in the event of a war outbreak.
In Poland, the Minister of the Interior, Mariusz Kaminski, declared that they are studying various possibilities and that they are developing preparations to manage the reception of thousands of Ukrainians seeking protection.
According to agreements between the two countries, citizens of Ukraine can enter Poland without a visa as a tourist for 90 days.
NATO estimates
NATO has calculated that in the event of the invasion, the Ukrainian army will be defeated in at least two days and the attack would have a balance of 50,000 dead and more than five million displaced.
For this reason, Kaminski ordered the regional governments to carry out preparations for receiving a large influx of Ukrainian refugees.
The Polish Immigration office assured that more than 300,000 Ukrainians currently have a residence permit. However, most permits do not exceed three years in duration.