Ukraine has issued 721.236 million UAH (about $28.25 million) of fines for Russian airlines flights to the annexed Crimea in violation of Ukrainian and international laws, Ukraine’s State Aviation Service reported.
Since the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Ukraine has issued over 5,000 acts to fine the Russian airlines.
However, “not a single kopeck” of the fines was paid by the Russian air carriers, the Ukrainian regulator said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on September 16, 2015 enacted a decision by the National Security and Defense Council dated September 2, 2015 on individual special economic sanctions and other restraints. Russian airlines, including the major Aeroflot, are also on the sanction list.
Namely, the sanctions were introduced against 224 Letny Otryad (The 224th Flight Unit), VIM Avia, Gazprom Avia, Donavia, Kogalymavia, Orenburg Airlines, Polet, Red Wings, Rossiya, RusJet, RusLine, S7, Transaero, Ural Airlines, Yakutia, Yamal, and others.
Ukraine’s government also endorsed a ban on flights by the abovementioned Russian airlines from September 25, 2015. Sanctioned are 29 Russian airlines, including 27 which unlawfully flew to annexed Crimea and two Ukrainian companies, which were “nationalized” by the so-called “government of the temporarily occupied Crimea”.
Poroshenko has recently issued an order to expand the list of the sanctioned airlines from Russia. (Interfax/Business World Magazine)