UK impounds aircraft following new round of aviation sanctions against Russia
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said today UK authorities had impounded an aircraft following a new round of aviation sanctions against Russia.
“There is one such aircraft on the ground at the moment at Farnborough that I’ve essentially impounded whilst we carry out further investigations for the last few days – and it’s very important that we have the laws available to enable that to happen,” he told BBC TV this morning.
Shapps’s comments come a few hours after he announced to have made it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to enter the UK airspace, allowing the government to detain all planes owned, operated or chartered by anyone connected to Moscow.
“We will suffocate Putin’s cronies’ ability to continue living as normal while thousands of innocent people die,” Shapps tweeted last night.
The latest sanctions, which were unveiled this morning by foreign secretary Liz Truss, include a ban on the export of aviation and space-related goods and technology, as well as clamping down on UK companies who offer insurance services to such assets.
“Banning Russian flagged planes from the UK and making it a criminal offence to fly them will inflict more economic pain on Russia and those close to the Kremlin,” commented Truss. “We will continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, economically and defensively in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion, and work to isolate Russia on the international stage.”